Brussels, 09/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - The European Commission's recommendation last year to guide the member states that use hydraulic fracking to extract gas from shale fails to protect citizens' health or the environment, states a report published by Friends of the Earth Europe and Food &Water Europe on Thursday 8 October.
The two NGOs warn that the weaknesses of the recommendation are increasing the likelihood of serious threats to communities such as ground-water contamination, toxic air pollution, damage to landscapes and health risks including cancer and birth defects.
The report, entitled Fracking business (as usual) - Analysis of the EC Recommendation on shale gas shows that this recommendation is not binding and therefore lacks the ability to force member states to make even minimal changes to their shale gas regulations. It also relies too heavily on self-monitoring by the oil and industry to control the worst aspects of fracking.
The recommendation adopted in January 2014 instead of the initial plan to introduce legislation, simply provides minimum common principles for exploring and producing shale gas (see EUROPE 10998). The study shows that this means that the member states are not taking proper protective measures against the potential risks of shale gas. By proper measures, the NGOs mean publication of a list of the chemical products used, safe elimination of fracking waste water and liability for abandoned oil and gas wells.
The study shows that the principles outlined in the recommendation are too imprecise and create legal uncertainty about the relevance of existing legislation; although member states are encouraged to ensure that shale gas sites are fully assessed to identify potential risks, these risks are not clearly identified in the recommendation; - only Poland, the United Kingdom, Lithuania and Germany have taken legislative initiatives or other measures following the recommendation.
“The European Commission and EU member states lack the political will and ability to strictly regulate the fracking industry. With mounting evidence about the negative impacts of fracking in the US and growing recognition of the long-term risks, we believe that the precautionary principle should be front and centre in decision-making on fracking in Europe. Relying on industry monitoring its down impact is like putting the fox in charge of the hen house,” commented Antoine Simon of FoE.
An examination of action taken by the member states to implement the recommendation is planned by the end of this year, using information provided by the member states (particularly Poland, the UK, Germany, Spain, Romania and Ireland). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)