Fracking rigs like this one pictured in the United States inject water and chemicals into rock formations deep underground to release oil and gas
Mladen ANTONOVBritain's Labour government plans to permanently ban fracking, a highly controversial method of extracting fossil fuels, due its environmental impact, Energy Secretary Ed Miliband said Wednesday.
Although there is a moratorium on fracking already in place due to concerns it could trigger earthquakes, fracking is not yet fully banned in law.
"Let's ban fracking," Miliband told the Labour party conference in Liverpool.
"It will trash our climate commitments, and it is dangerous and deeply harmful to our natural environment," he said.
His comments came after hard-right party Reform UK, which has surged in the polls, pledged to bring back the practice if it came to power.
Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is used to extract oil and gas from shale rock deep underground.
Environmentalists argue that the process contaminates water supplies, hurts wildlife, causes earthquakes and contributes to global climate change.
It is banned in many countries, including France and Germany, but has boomed in the United States.
The Conservatives introduced a moratorium on the practice in England in 2019 after an Oil and Gas Authority report found it was not possible to accurately predict its potential for triggering earthquakes.
However, former prime minister Liz Truss briefly lifted the ban in 2022, sparking huge opposition from environmentalists and even some members of her own parliamentary party.
The practice was swiftly halted again by her successor Rishi Sunak.
Greenpeace UK welcomed Miliband's speech on Wednesday, saying that fracking is "polluting, deeply unpopular, and.... it’ll do nothing to lower energy bills."
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Originally published on doc.afp.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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