Tom Greatrex MP, Labour’s Shadow Energy Minister, will today (Monday 8 December 2014) table 11 amendments to the Infrastructure Bill marking the most concerted effort to date to tighten the regulations for shale gas.

The amendments will close key loopholes in the environmental regulation, including introducing a presumption against fracking in protected areas, such as Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, National Parks and Sites of Special Scientific Interest, requiring greater disclosure of the contents of frack fluid and fugitive emissions, and mandating independent well inspections.

Tom Greatrex MP, Labour’s Shadow Energy Minister, said:

“Shale gas extraction cannot go ahead unless we have a system of robust regulation and comprehensive inspection. Despite clear flaws in the existing framework, David Cameron’s government have repeatedly side-lined genuine and legitimate environmental concern and seem prepared to accept shale gas at any cost.

“Labour have today proposed the biggest overhaul of the regulations for shale gas to date, introducing requirements for baseline assessments of methane in the groundwater, monitoring of fugitive emissions and independent well inspection among other measures, and we will look to table further amendments ensuring that there are adequate protections for groundwater aquifers.

“While eight out of 10 homes still rely on gas for heating, shale gas may have a role to play in displacing some of the gas we currently import and improving our energy security – it is not about increasing how much gas we use, but where we get it from. But that potential benefit cannot come at the expense of robust environmental protections or our climate change commitments.”