The House of Lords Economic Affairs Committee has told the government to get the finger out on shale gas development.
We recommend that:
- the Prime Minister should establish a new Committee or Sub-Committee of the Cabinet, chaired by the Chancellor, dedicated to ensuring that his commitment to “go all out for shale” is matched by action;
- the Government should streamline and improve the unwieldy regulatory structure to make it effective as well as rigorous;
- the Government should take the lead in setting out the economic benefits of shale and in reassuring the public that with proper regulation environmental and health risks of developing it are low;
- the industry should engage better with local communities, building on its community benefit schemes, ensuring that its plans are clear and well-explained, meticulously observing regulations and planning conditions and generally being a good neighbour;
- exploration, appraisal and then development of the United Kingdom’s substantial shale gas and oil resources should be recognised as an urgent national priority.
This is nice stuff, but one has to wonder whether it will have any effect at all. The bureaucracy at DECC is in the hands of environmentalists, the ministers are all greens too, the brakes have applied and there is no sign that they will be released any time soon; the only solution I can see is a dedicated ministry for unconventional fossil fuels. But with Cameron and Clegg wedded to the green vote this is only a pipe dream.
We await a cold winter with interest.
Bishop Hill
In related news, the Scottish government has rejected calls for an all-out ban on unconventional gas developments, although you have to wonder if their buffer zones plan will have the same effect.