We write as environmental and social scientists in response to the extraordinary claims by the climate minister, Graham Stuart, that fracking and oil drilling are “good for the environment” and the economy (12 October). The reality is quite different. First, Mr Stuart’s claim about the supposed lower carbon intensity of UK oil and gas extraction pales into insignificance compared with the carbon implications of adding to overall extraction of fossil fuels, and flies in the face of the warning by the International Energy Agency that no new oil, gas or coal development can take place if the world is to reach net zero by 2050.
Second, new UK oil and gas will lock in dependency on infrastructure that will become increasingly useless as the UK moves towards its emission reduction target. Third, the signal that such a move sends ahead of next month’s Cop27 summit is damaging to the UK’s credibility, as Lord Deben of the Climate Change Committee has made clear.
Fourth, from licensing to starting production, most new oil wells require 10 years, and UK gas prices are unaffected by UK production, so new drilling is irrelevant to the cost of living crisis. Fifth, regarding fracking, Stuart’s own government banned it because of the challenges of extracting safely, and shale gas’s overall carbon footprint was found to be comparable to gas extracted from conventional sources, according to a government report.
This is a distraction when wind and solar are more competitive. Investment in cheap renewable energies needs to be combined with reductions in energy demand through home insulation, heat pumps and support for public transport to ensure we do not have to resort to expanding supply in such a reckless and unsustainable way.
Prof Paul Ekins University College London
Prof Peter Newell Sussex University
• Have an opinion on anything you’ve read in the Guardian today? Please email us your letter and it will be considered for publication.
