Wednesday 25 October 2017

Scottish Parliament backs fracking ban

Members of the Scottish Parliament have voted “overwhelmingly” in favour of the government’s decision to ban fracking.

The Scottish Government announced it would not support the controversial method of extracting shale gas earlier this month.

It followed a consultation, which received more than 60,000 responses, with around 99% of respondents opposed to fracking and less than 1% in favour.

Scottish Energy Minister Paul Wheelhouse said the vote represents a “clear endorsement” of the government’s decision.

He added: “We undertook one of the most far-reaching examinations of unconventional oil and gas ever carried out by any government and created numerous opportunities throughout the process for discourse and debate.

“The Scottish Government has said ‘no’ to fracking in Scotland. Today the Scottish Parliament did the right thing for Scotland and endorsed our position.”

A Strategic Environmental Assessment will now be commissioned to consider the potential impacts of the government’s position before formal finalisation.