Creation of the UK Infrastructure Act

About the Series

The UK Infrastructure Act was passed on February 12, 2015 by David Cameron’s coalition-government after much controversy and debate. The new act will see national parks and groundwater protection zones at risk from fracking as a result of government backtracking on amendments previously agreed to under the Infrastructure Bill โ€“ these originally aimed to increase the safety of hydraulic fracturing for shale gas.

Last-minute additions to the bill by the Liberal Democrats also saw a new definition of fracking enter the statute books. The Infrastructure Act also contains a clause which legally binds all future governments to maximise the economic recovery of UK petroleum. This means that every last drop of oil and gas must be extracted, directly contradicting the UK‘s 2008 Climate Change Act which requires the UK to reduce emissions by 80% and become a low-carbon economy. But as this DeSmog UK investigative series reveals, this controversial act has all the hallmarks of industry influence.

In This Series

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Shell, BP, Total UK and Centrica are just a few of the 15 oil and gas companies courted by the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) to help implement the Wood Review recommendation to max...
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A highly controversial clause was snuck into the Infrastructure Actย last month mandating all future governments to extract every last drop of oil and bubble of gas out of theย ground. And now George...
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Last week,ย DeSmog UK revealed how David Cameronโ€™s government snuck a new definition of fracking onto the statute books. Kyla Mandel investigates where this definition actually cameย from. The defin...
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David Cameronโ€™s government has snuck a new definition of fracking onto the statute booksย โ€“ย allowing hydraulic fracturing for shale gas to take place outside the new regulatoryย regime.ย  Cuadrillaโ€™s...
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Weak fracking rules have officially been enshrined in law as the controversial Infrastructure Bill became an act lastย night. The new act will see national parks and groundwater protection zones at ...
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Climate deniersย Viscountย Matt Ridleyย andย Lord Nigel Lawson defended a controversialย fracking U-turn by the Conservative-led government in the House of Lords last night that will reduce safety stand...
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Fracking lives to see another day in Britain as MPs overwhelmingly reject a proposal to place a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing for shaleย gas. A mere 52 MPs voted in favour of the amendment to t...
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The UKโ€™s climate change ambition will be undermined if the duty to maximise oil and gas extraction is included in the Infrastructure Bill, argue environmental NGO, Friends of the Earth and non-prof...
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A moratorium on fracking in the UK โ€“ or even a complete ban โ€“ will be sought by Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, it has been confirmed to DeSmog UK. Lucas is expected to propose the fracking ban as a...