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United Kingdom: Fracking companies should not get tax breaks, says No 10 adviser
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on July 18th, 2013
Guardian: Shale gas fracking companies should not be granted tax breaks, a leading Downing Street adviser has said, because their operations are likely to be profitable without such incentives – even as the government prepared to offer developers a new "pad allowance" for the wells they drill, to encourage more of the controversial exploration.
Peter Lilley, the climate sceptic Tory MP who is an adviser on foreign policy in No 10, said in a debate on shale gas in Westminster Hall on Thursday afternoon:...
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Labour unveils plan to promote food-growing culture in Britain
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on July 3rd, 2013
Guardian: The UK should have fruit trees blossoming around housing estates, schools with access to vegetable gardens and council allotments for growing fresh vegetables, Labour said on Wednesday while setting out its strategy for the future of food policy. The vision of ways to bring food-growing to the masses was accompanied by measures on reforming food-safety regulations and supporting more jobs in farming.
Mary Creagh, shadow environment secretary, recalled the measures taken by the post-war Labour...
UK shale gas survey likely to reveal reserves higher than expected
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on June 27th, 2013
Guardian: New estimates of the UK's reserves of shale gas will be published on Thursday, and are expected to be much larger than originally thought – potentially supplying the UK with decades' worth of natural gas, if a high proportion of the gas in the rocks can be extracted at a low cost. However that key question that cannot yet be answered due to the lack of experimental wells drilled so far and the challenges posed by the UK's high density of population.
The survey of shale reserves, carried out by...
Majority Face Water Shortages ‘Within Two Generations’
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on May 28th, 2013
Guardian: The majority of the 9 billion people on Earth will live with severe pressure on fresh water within the space of two generations as climate change, pollution and over-use of resources take their toll, 500 scientists have warned.
The world's water systems would soon reach a tipping point that "could trigger irreversible change with potentially catastrophic consequences," more than 500 water experts warned on Friday as they called on governments to start conserving the vital resource. They said it...
Shale gas investments ‘could be worth £4bn a year to UK economy’
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on May 23rd, 2013
Guardian: Investments in shale gas drilling could yield an industry worth nearly £4bn a year to the UK economy and create more than 70,000 jobs, according to a new report from the Institute of Directors (IoD), becoming a "new North Sea" energy business in the process.
That is higher than previous estimates, and includes a wide variety of jobs from those directly employed in the industry, such as geologists and drilling experts, but also cement manufacturers and people working in local retail and service...
Indonesia’s tropical forests set to benefit from further clearing ban
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on May 12th, 2013
Guardian: A ban on the clearing of tropical forests in Indonesia is on the verge of being extended in a historic deal that could protect some of the world's most threatened habitats.
Indonesia is home to about a third of the world's remaining tropical forests, which provide a habitat for endangered species such as the orangutan and Sumatran tiger.
For the past two years the government has imposed a moratorium on felling forests in an effort to halt the deforestation that has laid waste to much of the...
Shale gas: green groups condemn methane flaring plans for wells
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on May 9th, 2013
Guardian: The two companies exploring for shale gas in the UK have confirmed that they intend to flare methane gas from their wells in a move that has been condemned by environmentalists. It is likely to be the most visible sign of the fracking revolution that many in business and government would like to bring to the UK.
Flaring excess gas is widely regarded as environmentally damaging, as burning the methane results in greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. In the US, where fracking...
United Kingdom: MPs say cash-for-locals scheme would overcome shale gas fracking opposition
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on April 26th, 2013
Guardian: Companies fracking for shale gas in the UK should be made to offer substantial financial incentives to people living near their sites, an influential committee of MPs has said.
The energy and climate change committee said on Friday that measures such as cash payments or rebates on energy bills would be needed to overcome local opposition to shale gas drilling, which has been associated with water, ground and air pollution in the US, and which green groups say is incompatible with moving to a low-carbon...
Shale gas could be lower carbon than imported fuel, say climate advisers
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on April 24th, 2013
Guardian: Shale gas extracted in the UK would be lower carbon than imported gas from countries such as Qatar, and help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions if well regulated, the government's chief climate change advisers have said.
But in a report published on Wednesday, the Committee on Climate Change also sounded caution on the prospects for widespread development of shale in the UK. It said that relying heavily on gas would scupper the UK's chances of meeting emissions targets in the longer term, and...
United Kingdom: Cuadrilla censured by advertising watchdog over fracking safety claims
Posted by Guardian: Fiona Harvey, on April 23rd, 2013
Guardian: Cuadrilla, the only shale fracking company operating in the UK, has been slapped down by the advertising watchdog for claiming that it uses "proven, safe technologies".
The censure by the Advertising Standards Authority will force a significant watering down of some of the company's claims and is a further blow to Cuadrilla, which has halted fracking at all of its UK sites following a series of setbacks. Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves pumping water, sand and chemicals into deep wells...