Campaigners Slam 'Absurd' Government Fracking Plans as IPCC Scientists Warn of Climate Crisis

picture-25876-1571179299.jpg
on

The governmentโ€™s proposal to change planning rules to make it easier to frack the UK is an โ€œinsult to local democracyโ€, campaigners say.

Around 20 protestors gathered to erect a four-meter fracking rig outside the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) to protest against plans to make fracking sites โ€œpermitted developmentsโ€. Under the plans, fracking sites would be able to automatically proceed, rather than having to receive consent from local authorities.

The protest took place on the day the UNโ€™s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a report outlining the benefits of limiting warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels, and suggesting a rapid phasing out of fossil fuels was necessary to achieve the goal.

The plans would go โ€œagainst the will of the British peopleโ€, Anton Gijsen, a London resident who has been protesting against fracking for three years, told DeSmog UK.

โ€œItโ€™s absurd, the last thing we need is more fossil fuel infrastructure. We need to be taking it down and dismantling oil fieldsโ€, he said.

The government is consulting on the plans until 25 October. A government spokesperson told DeSmog UK:

โ€œNo one benefits from delays in planning decisions. Thatโ€™s why we are committed to planning reforms to help ensure quicker decision making on shale applications.โ€


Like what youโ€™re reading? Donate here to support DeSmog UKโ€˜s journalism today 


The IPCCโ€˜s report said reaching the ambitious 1.5C goal would require โ€œrapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of societyโ€, including a rapid phasing out of fossil fuels.

Outside BEISโ€™ Westminster office, Sebastian Kelly, the Let Communities Decide Campaign Lead for 350.org, told the crowd:

โ€œA major UN report this morning urges the immediate phasing out of fossil fuels. If weโ€™re going to address climate change we need to act now.โ€

โ€œYou donโ€™t need to be against fracking to realise local people should have a say on what happens on their doorstepโ€.


Anti-fracking protestors outside BEIS. Credit: Alban Grosdidier

Beth Parks, a London resident, agreed. She told DeSmog UK, โ€œthe fast track planning laws are just going to make it easier to frack in communities that donโ€™t want it, which is an insult to local democracyโ€.

The governmentโ€™s planning proposal sits alongside a crackdown on opposition to fracking. Parks said fracking was unpopular across the country, with people now willing to go to jail to register their opposition.

Referencing the โ€˜Frack Free Fourโ€™, who were the first campaigners in the UK to be given custodial sentences earlier this month for protesting against fracking, she said, โ€œItโ€™s galvanises energy if anything, as it brings these issues to the forefrontโ€.

โ€œYou see the sacrifice that some people have made, and you feel like you should be doing your bit. If theyโ€™re going to sit inside a cell, it has to be for something.โ€


Like what youโ€™re reading? Donate here to support DeSmog UKโ€˜s journalism today 


Image: Alban Grosdidier. Updated 08/10/2018: A comment from a government spokesperson was added.

picture-25876-1571179299.jpg
Mat was DeSmog's Special Projects and Investigations Editor, and Operations Director of DeSmog UK Ltd. He was DeSmog UKโ€™s Editor from October 2017 to March 2021, having previously been an editor at Nature Climate Change and analyst at Carbon Brief.

Related Posts

on

Warren Stephensโ€™ family firm has at least $250 million invested in the food and agriculture sector.

Warren Stephensโ€™ family firm has at least $250 million invested in the food and agriculture sector.
on

Desperation, bad advice and lobbying likely underpinning the provinceโ€™s plan to blend hydrogen with natural gas for home heating.

Desperation, bad advice and lobbying likely underpinning the provinceโ€™s plan to blend hydrogen with natural gas for home heating.
on

With energy projects nationwide still in limbo, companies impacted by Trump-era โ€œreviewโ€ left searching for answers on unfinished projects.

With energy projects nationwide still in limbo, companies impacted by Trump-era โ€œreviewโ€ left searching for answers on unfinished projects.
on

Analyses of top podcasts show a trend of climate change denial and misinformation.

Analyses of top podcasts show a trend of climate change denial and misinformation.