Tomorrow, the European Parliament will vote on two shale gas reports.  Many MEPs, - particularly those from Poland and the Industry Committee - are strongly pushing for the development of shale gas across Europe, despite the warnings from several scientists on the numerous possible side effects underlined by the recent studies on shale gas by the European Commission. This, coupled with one of the recent studies stating that the productivity of a well decreases rapidly after its first few years of exploitation - meaning to extract more gas you need more wells - hardly sustainable! - and reports showing that the US shale gas boom may have been quite exaggerated, make it more and more ridiculous for shale gas to be presented as any sort of opportunity.

The Greens/EFA hope that those members, who persist in presenting shale gas as a great opportunity for Europe while playing down the risks, not only realise the various damages that could ensue from such a decision but also - and this is perhaps the most important for a directly elected body - listen to their citizens!

Indeed, a large number of citizens have presented petitions to the European Parliament since last year, trying to directly alert their representatives on the effect the shale gas exploration and exploitation will have on their resources, landscapes and local environments.  In total, 9 official petitions have been collected: 3 from Poland, 2 from Romania, 2 from Germany, 1 from France, 1 from the UK and 1 from Bulgaria. But this list of course does not include those that have been directly transmitted to local and national governments����/p>

The MEPs - and particularly those from the countries that have alerted the European Parliament - must respect their citizens���� demands and decide to put an end to the development of yet another fossil fuel. With climate change getting more and more tangible and our precious resources getting scarcer, EU citizens have understood the necessity to protect our environment. 

The decision that the European Parliament will take tomorrow will be a crossing point in the development of the fossil fuels and especially the unconventional ones. The Greens/ EFA hope that their amendment for a moratorium on shale gas across Europe will be supported. It is important that Members send a strong signal to the EU Members States and show to the rest of the world that Europe is serious about its climate and energy objectives and that it prefers to invest in long-term, risk-free, renewable energy sources.

With the growing critic against the Union across the European states, the Greens/EFA group hopes that all directly elected representatives of the European Parliament prove that they are not turning a deaf ear to their citizens���� demands and that they show that they are willing to protect their interests over those of the dirty lobbies.

 

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See the Greens/EFA����s campaign against shale gas and hydraulic fracking here.