Bishop of Salford calls for rethink on lifting fracking ban

The Bishop of Salford has called on the government to rethink lifting a ban on fracking because he believes it is a threat to local people.

John Arnold, lead on environmental issues for the Roman Catholic church, said it was a "short-term" solution.

His comments follow a letter sent by a Roman Catholic church group to Business Secretary Jacob-Rees-Mogg questioning his policy on oil and gas.

The government said it is committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050.

Speaking on BBC Radio Lancashire, Bishop Arnold said the decision by Mr Rees-Mogg to restart "dangerous" fracking was "remarkable" when the process was "clearly a threat to the local population, their property and their wellbeing".

"It seems to me a very short-term look at a solution on energy," he said.

Fracking is the process of drilling into the earth and directing a high-pressure mixture of water, sand and chemicals at a rock layer to release the gas inside.

A ban on the process, put in place after a series of earthquakes at energy firm Cuadrilla's Preston New Road site, near Blackpool in 2019, was lifted last week.

The government's lifting of the ban came alongside the publication of a review into fracking by the British Geological Survey (BGS).

It had concluded there was still a limited understanding of the impacts of such drilling.

Mr Rees-Mogg told the House of Commons it was "important" to use all available sources of fuel within the UK rather than import them.

But Bishop Arnold said: "We've got to be looking for renewable energy without going for fossil fuels.

"The idea of fracking producing the sort of energy needs we have is nonsense. We've got to be looking to renewables."

He said the catholic church teaching was "very clear" that "we've got to look after our common home".

"We are damaging it in very serious ways at the moment to the point that some of the damage is going to be irreparable," he added.

Stephen Garsed, Roman Catholic Diocese of Lancaster's Environmental Justice Group lead, said fracking "will not reduce the price of gas and will not solve our gas needs".

He said the environmental damage fracking would cause in relation to the amount of gas it would produce was "untenable".

Local people were "very concerned and outraged", Mr Garsed said, adding that the industry needed to be "very upfront about the risks and the benefits".

A Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy spokeswoman said lifting the pause on shale gas extraction will allow the government "to gather further data and make sure this is done as safely as possible and where there is local support".

The government remains "fully committed to the legally binding target of achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050", she added.

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