The tsar of fracturing resigns after six months and blames environmental activists | Environment

The government's tsar left the post after only six months, saying the controversial process policy meant she had "no reason to be" for her work.

Natascha Engel told business secretary Greg Clark that developing the industry would be "an impossible task" despite its "huge potential". In her letter of resignation, she said the environmental activists had "strongly succeeded" in encouraging the government to fight against fracking.

Engel, a former Labor MP, wrote this letter after two weeks of demonstrations by the Extinction Rebellion group, which paralyzed part of London by demanding to reduce its emissions to zero by 2025.

She wrote, "A perfectly viable and exciting new industry that could help us achieve our carbon reduction goals, ensure our energy security and create jobs in areas of the country that really need to wither, not for technical or financial reasons. security reasons, but because of a political decision ".

Engel is complaining that a traffic light system that stops fracking when a jolt of magnitude 0.5 is recorded "equates to a de facto ban".

"The UK could be on the verge of an energy revolution like the one we have not seen since the discovery of oil and gas in the North Sea," she wrote.

Fracking, she said, could create jobs, boost economic security and offer a cleaner alternative to coal and biombad.

Critics say the amount of water needed for fracking is damaging to the environment and claim that it releases dangerous chemicals. They also say that governments should focus on renewable energies.

In his letter of resignation, Engel said: "The UK currently spends £ 7 billion a year to import gas, a sum that is not used to build schools, hospitals or repair nests. hen of our roads. Developing our own shale gas industry would mean that the money is paid to the treasury rather than released. "

She added, "We know that shale gas can be extracted safely. We have the best regulations and regulators in the world. We know the positive impact this has on local communities, but we choose to listen to a powerful environmental lobby fighting against fracking rather than letting science and evidence guide our decision-making process. "

She stated that "apart from her unique and horrible name", the process is "materially no different" from other methods of extracting hydrocarbons.

"We are listening to a small but powerful environmental movement that in principle opposes any fossil fuel extraction," he said. "The fracking campaign has been very successful at improving the profile and filling the coffers of some NGOs, but they do not represent local residents or the general population."

In a statement following his resignation, Engel said: "I hope that it will be necessary to rethink as soon as possible a policy guided by science rather than by fear.

"There is reason to be optimistic about how development technologies, including hydraulic fracturing, can help us accelerate the reduction of CO2 emissions and grow our economy. Unfortunately, today, only those who shout are heard.