Against the backdrop of an ever increasing awareness and anxiety among citizens, communities and regions across the EU of the potential threats and opportunities presented by “Shale Gas”, the Committee of the Regions, has adopted the opinion of the EA member and Clare County Cllr. Brian Meaney which includes a series of strong recommendations to deal with the specific concerns of Local and Regional Authorities and of their citizens and strongly urges the European Commission and the other EU institutions to take these recommendations on board.
Taking into account of local and regional authorities' competence, Cllr Brian Meaney requests that decisions by Local and Regional Authorities to prohibit, limit and control the activities associated with the extraction of unconventional hydrocarbons are respected. Local and regional authorities should possess the right to exclude sensitive areas or where those activities would render authorities unable to meet their targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, he added.
The opinion sparked a lively debate among members which showed the different sensibilities across the different Member States. While in some parts of Europe, fracking activities have begun, some Member States and regions have banned the extraction of shale gas on the ground of environmental and human health concerns. Fracking requires large amounts of water that contains chemicals that might pollute underground waters and aquifers, if the extraction activities are not done in the safest manner. Moreover some argue there can be sizeable amounts of methane released into the atmosphere and that fracking can cause minor earthquakes. Spatially intense land occupation with the possible threat to sustainable urban/rural settlements and natural habitats needs also to be taken into account, concluded the EA member
