UK energy minister held secret meeting with fracking firms: Report
Reports in the British media show that senior government authorities had held secret meetings with companies active in fracking, a form of fossil fuel extraction which is believed to be highly damaging to the environment.
A Saturday report on the website of the Guardian newspaper showed that energy minister Claire Perry had held an off-the-record meeting with senior executives from shale gas companies on May 21, telling them that the British government was intent on going ahead with fracking plans despite widespread public concerns about its environmental impacts.
Representatives from companies like Cuadrilla, Ineos, iGas, Third Energy and BP, which is not a shale gas firm, attended the meeting with Perry, the report said.
During the meeting, Perry told the companies that Britain wanted to become a role model for shale gas extraction in the world, saying that the government even wanted to export its expertise to other countries.
She also said in the meeting that the government would do its best to help shale gas industries to “get past myths” about detrimental impacts of fracking on the environment.
The revelations come amid an ongoing fracking operation by Cuadrilla in a site in northwest England. Massive protests have been held since the company moved its equipment to Preston New Road, near Blackpool, in Lancashire. Some protests even turned violent and police were forced to arrest several people.
The Guardian said a total of 17 minor earthquakes have been recorded since Cuadrilla began its operation in the area earlier in October.
The company said Friday it was temporarily halting operation after a 0.76-magnitude tremor was reported.
Fracking, or hydrolic fracturing, can also cause serious contamination of water resources as the extractions is carried out using huge pressure and masses of water.
Environmental activists have accused the UK government of disrespecting scientific evidence against fracking. Even some has said that Britain is directly imitating the US President Donald Trump in calling climate change a “hoax”.
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