Scotland says no to tracking

摘要

The Scottish government has effectively banned fracking in Scotland by announcing that it will not support the development of unconventional oil and gas and will extend its existing moratorium on the practice indefinitely. The decision reflected the responses to a large-scale four-month public consultation (HSB 459 p. 20), which elicited in excess of 60,000 responses. Of these, 99% were against fracking1. Addressing members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) on 3 October, the Scottish minister for business, innovation and energy, Paul Wheelhouse, said that the decision, which meant "fracking cannot and will not take place in Scotland", had not been taken "lightly", but had followed an extensive period of evidence gathering, public engagement and dialogue.