READING EAST MP Matt Rodda has expressed his concerns about the resumption of fracking.
He asked an urgent question in the House of Commons on Thursday, September 22, after it was revealed the government was going against a manifesto pledge to start the controversial gas extraction process.
Jacob Rees-Mogg, the Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, told the chamber he was “glad to be able to announce that the moratorium on the extraction of shale gas is being lifted”.
He continued: “It is important that we use all available sources of fuel within this country. It is more environmentally friendly to use our own sources of fuel than to extract them in other countries and transport them here at great cost, both financially and in terms of carbon.
“It is therefore something we need to revisit, and we need to revisit the seismic limits to ensure that shale gas extraction can be done in an effective and efficient way.”
A number of MPs were critical of this decision, including Mr Rodda.
His question to Mr Rees-Mogg was: “Residents across the south of England are deeply concerned about the risks of fracking and indeed oil drilling.
“Why is the Secretary State not listening to those concerns? And why is he also not listening to the concerns of the Government’s former Chief Scientific Advisor and indeed, those of the British Geological Survey?”
The response was: “The concerns of this house are being represented by Members of Parliament, so they are being listened to by Her Majesty’s Government.”
Speaking after the debate, Mr Rodda said: “Fracking is a dangerous and expensive way to produce energy.
“It will not provide the clean, secure energy we need in the South-East.
“To underline the dangers of lifting the moratorium on Fracking, the British geological survey has confirmed that, ‘Hydraulic fracturing can trigger earthquakes large enough to cause structural damage. These events were not predicted in advance of operations’.”
