European lawmakers are deeply divided on how to deal with shale gas exploration in the European Union, two draft reports seen by Dow Jones Newswires showed Thursday.
European lawmakers are deeply divided on how to deal with shale gas
exploration in the European Union, two draft reports seen by Dow Jones
Newswires showed Thursday.
The two reports--which are early versions of the positions on shale gas of two
key parliamentary committees--show how lawmakers in charge of energy issues are
much more enthusiastic about the potential development of shale gas in the EU
than colleagues from the committee in charge of environment issues.
"Domestic production of shale gas will contribute to security of supply,
bearing in mind member states' dependence on natural gas imports from third
countries," the parliament's energy committee's draft report read. "Developing
shale gas in the EU will help achieve the EU's goal of reducing greenhouse gas
emissions" in the long term, it added.
While production of shale gas in the
U.S.
is
changing the global natural gas market and has decreased the country's energy
dependence, the issue is divisive in the EU.
France
and
Bulgaria
are
the main opponents to its extraction because of environmental concerns. Others,
led by
Poland
, are
strongly in favor because they see it as a means of easing their dependence on
imported gas, usually from
Russia
.
Members of the environment committee stressed the need for monitoring any
development and the necessity to have appropriate laws to regulate shale gas
exploration.
The committee "calls on national authorities to review existing state
regulation on well construction for conventional fossil fuels and update those
provisions covering the specific unconventional fossil fuel extraction,"
its draft report read.
These documents, which will become official in the next few months, don't have
a binding value, but are important because parliament uses them to set its
position on an issue about which it would have a say, in case binding
legislation were to be proposed.
The European Commission, which has executive powers in the EU, has adopted a
low profile on the issue.
Guenther Oettinger, the commissioner for energy, recently told Dow Jones that
at the moment it is a good idea to leave the issue for discussion at national
level, given the sharp divergences. He however added that personally he
believes that "the qualifications of our engineers, the technology
standards are able to avoid any dangerous environmental developments."
Shale gas is extracted by injecting large amounts of water mixed with chemicals
underground, to crack the rocks that trap the gas and push it to the surface, a
process called hydraulic fracturing, or fracking. Opponents fear that the
procedure could pollute drinking water sources and possibly create small
earthquakes, while supporters say that the extraction operations are carried
out deep underground and if done correctly pose no danger.
Exploratory drilling is taking place at more than 20 sites in the EU, half of
which are in
Poland
.
Διαβάστε ακόμα
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:58
Τρι, 24 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 19:54
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:32
Τετ, 18 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 18:27
Τρι, 17 Σεπτεμβρίου 2024 - 20:01