Sunak reinstates UK fracking ban – Reuters
New Prime Minister’s decision overturns a controversial move by his predecessor, Liz Truss
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced on Wednesday that he would reinstate a moratorium on fracking, a month after Liz Truss lifted the long-standing ban. While only a minority of Britons support the practice, Truss argued that fracking was essential to UK energy security.
Speaking in Parliament, Sunak said he « support[s] by the manifesto, referring to the Conservative Party’s 2019 pledge to impose a moratorium on shale gas extraction. Downing Street confirmed shortly after that the moratorium would indeed be reinstated.
While Boris Johnson’s government honored the 2019 pledge, then-Prime Minister Liz Truss lifted the ban in September, arguing that Britain needed to increase domestic gas production to bring the outbreak under control. rising energy costs caused by its sanctions against Moscow because of the conflict in Ukraine.
His policy change was opposed by many Tory MPs, whose rural voters overwhelmingly oppose the practice. The Labor Party also opposes fracking, and although Truss managed to muster enough Tory MPs to oppose a Labor motion to permanently ban onshore mining last week, she has been accused of heavily armed them to take his side and resigned a day later.
Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a technology that extracts oil and gas from shale rock by breaking it down with water and chemicals. The 2019 moratorium was imposed after research found the procedure could cause earthquakes.
Sunak’s reinstatement of the ban marks the latest reversal of one of Truss’s highly controversial policies. The recently deceased Prime Minister canceled his own economic plan earlier this month after his announcement sent markets into a tailspin and sent the pound plummeting.
While Sunak’s hijacking of Truss’ fracking policy aligns with Labor demands, his move has been highlighted by the party as an example of Tory inconsistency on the issue. « Whatever their latest stance, the truth is that the Tories have shown they cannot be trusted on the issue of fracking, » Labour’s shadow climate secretary Ed Miliband said on Wednesday.
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