The UK Government Is Convinced Fracking Is The Answer Despite Evidence To The Contrary

£3,549. This will be the annual cost for heating a typical family home in the UK from 1st October 2022. An increase of around 80% compared to 2021.

In one of the richest nations on Earth, millions face being unable to heat their homes. This is a genuine crisis. 1 million more people face falling into poverty this Winter because of soaring gas prices. This unprecedented increase is being felt globally after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Beyond the humanitarian crisis, Putin’s callous actions have also rocked international energy markets, with Russia choking off Europe’s gas supplies in response to economic sanctions. 

With supplies limited, gas prices have rocketed. The newly appointed British Prime Minister’s response to this? Extending the windfall tax on energy firm’s record profits - projected to be £170 billion over the next two years? Accelerating the adoption of clean, reliable renewables - protected from market volatility? Increase energy efficiency and fulfill a 2019 Conservative promise to insulate homes?

No. It’s to revivify the UK’s long-dead fracking industry. Fracking is the process of releasing shale gas by drilling into rock and pumping in a mixture of water, sand, and chemicals. This is known to cause earth tremors, with energy firm Cuadrilla’s Preston New Road fracking site (the UK’s only one at the time) causing a 2.9 magnitude earthquake in 2019.

Following further concerns and protests, fracking was banned in the UK later that year. Yet the Conservatives have apparently failed to come up with a better energy strategy since.  The UK Government is determined to drain every last drop of fossil fuels from the country, with lifting the ban on fracking the most recent development. It’s a decision that almost seems nihilistic.

To put communities at risk and resume a destructive practice that pushes us further along the road to climate catastrophe while offering no respite to the hardships facing millions of Britons. Kwasi Kwarteng, the UK’s own Chancellor, has acknowledged it would take up to a decade for fracking to make any significant contribution to domestic supply.

Even energy firms pursuing fracking licenses have stated that in the best-case scenario, they could satisfy less than 5% of the UK’s needs over the next five years. The Conservative Government has pointedly avoided stating outright that fracking would reduce energy costs to families, instead focusing on the nebulous idea of ‘energy security’ at a time when decisive, immediate relief is needed. 

Meanwhile, the price of renewable energy has plummeted. Wind and solar are now the cheapest possible forms of energy production. Building a new solar or wind farm is approximately nine times cheaper than just running an existing gas power station.

It’s been estimated that the Conservative Government could have saved £13bn on energy bills - equivalent to £220 per household - over the last decade if they endorsed green measures. Instead, they seem determined to pursue unpopular, inefficient, and destructive policies to appease a vocal minority of their party.  It is not too late to rescue the UK’s commitment to net zero.

The UK Government could make good on its 2019 manifesto promise and insulate British homes, ending the UK’s shameful reign as the most poorly insulated country in Europe. The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit estimates that energy efficiency measures have already saved the UK around £1.2bn over the past decade.

Something that’s worryingly tapered off after the Conservatives abandoned their flagship green plans in 2015. The answer to a fossil fuel crisis is not more fossil fuels. Hopefully, we will all recognize this before we cross yet another tipping point.