Environmental and climate change impacts of Shale Gas
Researchers at the Tyndall Centre at the University of Manchester have investigated the environmental and climate change impacts of Shale Gas – a new fossil fuel resource already developed in the US and being considered for imminent extraction and use in the UK. Funded by the Cooperative, the report (attached below) demonstrates how the extraction of shale gas risks seriously contaminating ground and surface waters. In this regard alone, the commissioned report calls for a moratorium on shale gas development until there is a much more thorough understanding of the extraction process. More fundamentally, the report concludes that in an energy hungry world, any new fossil fuel resource will only lead to additional carbon emissions. In the case of shale gas there is also a significant risk its use will delay the introduction of renewable energy alternatives. "Consequently, if we are serious in our commitment to avoid dangerous climate change, the only safe place for shale gas remains in the ground" says Professor Kevin Anderson at the Tyndall Centre and the University of Manchester. For further information please contact Daniel Cochlin, Press Officer at the University of Manchester. Ph+44(0)161 275 8387 daniel.cochlin@manchester.ac.uk
