The Scottish Government has commissioned an evidence gathering process that involves research into several different areas related to fracking. This includes the impact on public health, the economy, transport and our fight to stop climate change.
These studies will be very important in informing the public consultation planned for winter 2016/17, and the Scottish Government’s decision as to whether to ban fracking or allow it to go ahead.
The studies are expected to be published towards the end of October or early November. We will be analysing them as soon as they are published and sharing our thoughts here.
What evidence is being gathered and how?
The evidence gathering process that the Scottish Government has commissioned involves:
A Public Health Impact Assessment conducted by Health Protection Scotland
Studies on:
- Economic Impacts and scenario development work carried out by KPMG consultants
- Seismic Activity & Monitoring, carried out by the British Geological Society
- Decommissioning, Site Restoration and Aftercare, by AECOM consultants
- Climate Change Impacts, by the UK Climate Change Committee
- Community Level Impacts of Transport, by Ricardo consultants
Workshops and engagement on environmental regulation and planning
Consultants and Health Protection Scotland have engaged with stakeholders including Friends of the Earth Scotland, the Broad Alliance of Scottish communities opposed to unconventional gas, as well as industry stakeholders such as UK Onshore Oil and Gas, while carrying out their research.
A statement on details of the evidence gathering and consultation process including timescales can be found at http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0048/00487134.pdf
Details of the Health Impact Assessment can be found at http://www.hps.scot.nhs.uk/enviro/unconventionalgas.aspx
Full remits of the 5 research reports can be found at http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0049/00490623.pdf