Commission drops binding EU fracking directive on intense lobbying

LONDON (ICIS)–The European Commission has dropped plans to push for a legally binding environmental directive on shale gas fracking in the EU, a highly-placed source at the Commission said on Friday.

The Commission instead plans on Wednesday 22 January to introduce non-binding regulations and to only propose legislation if after 18 months a review showed member states had taken inadequate steps to protect the environment from shale gas exploration, he added.

The change in approach comes following “quiet but intense lobbying efforts” led by the UK and Poland, a source at the Polish environment ministry told ICIS News.

“British prime minister David Cameron wrote to the European Commission president arguing binding regulations would delay investment and would be costly to industry and unnecessary, while Poland and the other Visegrad countries [the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary] and Romania and Estonia have all been active behind the scenes opposing this potential regulatory burden,” he said.

The UK and Poland, which this year hopes to become the first EU country to commercially frack for shale gas, also received “mild backing” for some of their anti-regulatory aims from Ireland and Portugal, he added.

Supporters of binding regulations – including European environment commissioner Janet Potocnik who has argued there are clear gaps in existing legislation that would cover shale gas exploration and fracking – want new rules to protect the environment against any threats of water contamination or earth tremors.

However, the UK’s Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) argued current legislation was adequate.

In a statement, a DECC spokesperson said: “The Commission is due to publish proposals on the Framework for Unconventional Hydrocarbons on 22 January and we have made our position clear. 

“Decades of ambitious EU environmental directives have left the EU uniquely suited to handling the challenges of shale gas development, from water use through to methane emissions. The UK has over 50 years of experience in regulating onshore oil and gas and has been working with the EU to impart this knowledge.

“We therefore do not believe there is a need to legislate further. We must ensure EU action is proportionate, and does not result in the over-regulation of this emerging industry,” it added.

The DECC did, however, agree with the Commission that guidance was needed to clarify how existing EU legislation applies to shale gas in order to provide certainty to industry and to ensure directives are applied uniformly across the EU, the spokesperson added.

The regulations would be issued in the form of a recommendation, a non-binding act that need not go to a vote at either the European Parliament or European Council, and which would become effective immediately upon publication in the Official Journal of the European Union, the Commission source said. Publication was likely to take a few weeks, he added.

The non-binding regulations would require member states to carry out full environmental impact assessments and public consultations where shale gas projects were concerned, the source said.

Member states should also ensure shale gas sites had specific and efficient water management plans, transport management plans, gas capture, minimised flaring, well integrity and suitable reporting to competent authorities, the regulations would state, he added.

Six months after the introduction of the non-binding regulations, member states would have to report back to the Commission, which would then publish a compliance scoreboard of what steps in relation to best environmental practices they had taken.