Coroner & Legal
Wales follows Scotland and votes in favour of fracking moratorium
Another nail in the coffin of the UK shale gas industry was delivered today after the Welsh Government announced it would introduce a moratorium on fracking.
Ministers at the Welsh Assembly confirmed it would support a Plaid Cymru motion to effectively ban drilling plans until the full health and environmental impacts are properly studied and understood.
The political move follows the Scottish Government’s decision last week to use its incoming powers of devolution to block proposals for fracking on its nation’s soil.
Following today’s announcement of the Welsh ban, one campaigner said the issue of shale gas was now becoming “increasingly politically toxic” and described Westminster’s pro-fracking Ministers as looking “isolated and out of touch”.
Powers over the drilling of shale gas in Wales currently remain at Whitehall, but Welsh ministers have called for them to be devolved and a decision is expected to be delivered next month.
A number of exploratory drilling applications have already been approved in the Vale of Glamorgan and surrounding area after initially being refused by the local council.
Following the Welsh Government’s announcement, Friends of the Earth’s Energy Campaigner Donna Hume said: “The Westminster Government needs to catch up with Scotland, Wales and many other areas of the world and bring in a moratorium on controversial fracking.
“Fracking is bad for the climate and involves serious risks for health and the local environment.
“Fracking in the UK is looking increasingly like a lame duck. It’s time the Government stopped trying to get this damaging and unpopular industry off the ground and started prioritising energy efficiency and renewable energy.”
And Greenpeace energy campaigner Simon Clydesdale added: “Westminster’s pro-fracking ministers are looking increasingly isolated and out of touch, as both Scotland and Wales slam their doors in the face of the shale industry.
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