Church of England Won't Condemn Fracking

(CNSNews.com) – The Church of England is weighing in on the hydraulic fracturing debate as a matter of social justice by condemning “blanket opposition” to fracking, voicing support for its potential to alleviate "fuel poverty," and stressing the importance of proper management to avoid environmental damage.

Justin Welby, who became the Archbishop of Canterburyearlier this year, “worked in the oil industry” for 11 years, and was “group treasurer of a large British exploration and production company” before becoming an Anglican priest.

Noting that the Church has "no official policy either for or against" fracking, "blanket opposition to further exploration for new sources of fuel fails to take into account those who suffer most when resources are scarce,” Philip Fletcher, chair of the Church of England’s group on Mission and Public Affairs, said in a press release.

“Clearly all carbon based fuels contribute to global warming and are less than ideal in terms of climate change. However, it should also be recognised that gas is less damaging than coal and to preclude properly managed technical development is to risk denying ourselves more important, less polluting and less costly options than the energy sources on which we currently rely,” he said.

Fracking--the process of forcing natural gas from shale rock formations using pressurized fluids--was suspended in the UK in 2011 after a well was fractured in northern England and believed to be the probable cause of subsequent seismic tremors.

Acknowledging that “no case has yet come to light in which it has been confirmed that fracking has contaminated an aquifer,” Edward Davey, the UK’s secretary of state for energy and climate change, said last December after an investigation of the incident, "I am in principle prepared to consent to new fracking proposals for shale gas, where all other necessary permissions and consents are in place.”

Fletcher cited a Royal Academy of Engineering review which found that fracking “can be managed effectively in the UK as long as operational best practices are implemented and robustly enforced through regulation.”

The Church of England statement highlighted “the importance of proper controls in relation to any form of fracking--we do not want cowboys and cavaliers digging up the land in a free for all exploitation.”

Calling carbon-based fuels “less than ideal in terms of climate change,” the statement also noted “that gas is less damaging than coal and to preclude properly managed technical development is to risk denying ourselves more important, less polluting and less costly options than the energy sources on which we currently rely.”

"Fuel poverty, the creation of jobs, energy self-sufficiency and the development of technology that may reduce the impact of more polluting fuels are just some of the factors which need to be taken into account in any debate alongside the concern we all have about the impact of fossil fuels upon climate change," Fletcher concluded.

But Dr. Martin Warner, the Bishop of Chichester, encouraged further debate about fracking last week, stating, “It is easy, but also dangerous, to claim the moral high ground in complex debate about the environment and our quest for new energy sources. The rich resources that fracking can unlock come with some questionable consequences.”

Last month, the UK Treasury announced 2013 budget proposals that will feature a 30 percent tax break for shale gas “to increase our energy security, create jobs and generate substantial tax revenue

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Statement from Church of England on fracking

16 August 2013

The Chair of the Church of England's group on Mission and Public Affairs Philip Fletcher has today (16th August 2013) issued the following statement placing recent media reports in context:

"The Church of England has no official policy either for or against hydraulic fracturing (known as 'fracking'). However there is a danger of viewing fracking through a single issue lens and ignoring the wider considerations.

"There are a number of balancing considerations which need to be taken into account when coming to a view. Fuel poverty is an increasingly urgent issue for many in society - the impact on energy bills is felt most by the least well off. Blanket opposition to further exploration for new sources of fuel fails to take into account those who suffer most when resources are scarce.

"I would want to emphasise along with all those that care for the environment the importance of proper controls in relation to any form of fracking - we do not want cowboys and cavaliers digging up the land in a free for all exploitation. However as the Royal Academy of Engineering concluded recently in a review on fracking, this is a procedure which "can be managed effectively in the UK as long as operational best practices are implemented and robustly enforced through regulation".

"There are issues and risks. The answer to those is to treat them seriously and to minimise them. There are examples of how this can be done in other areas. The oil well operating at Furzey Island, adjacent to Brownsea Island, demonstrates that oil production in a deeply sensitive area can continue for decades without endangering the environment.

"Clearly all carbon based fuels contribute to global warming and are less than ideal in terms of climate change. However, it should also be recognised that gas is less damaging than coal and to preclude properly managed technical development is to risk denying ourselves more important, less polluting and less costly options than the energy sources on which we currently rely.

"Fuel poverty, the creation of jobs, energy self-sufficiency and the development of technology that may reduce the impact of more polluting fuels are just some of the factors which need to be taken into account in any debate alongside the concern we all have about the impact of fossil fuels upon climate change."

NotesThis follows two other church related statements on fracking which are in the public domain.

The first was from the Diocese of Blackburn, the other is from theBishop of Chichester

As with much of wider society the Church will continue debating the issue around fracking, seeking to balance theological, economic, environmental and societal issues.

Whilst individuals, communities and groups, both inside the church and in wider society may emphasise particular approaches or concerns there is as yet no official policy on fracking from the Church of England, with discussion expected to continue in various forms including the Ethical investment Advisory Group of the Church commissioners and the Mission and Public Affairs Group.

Mineral RightsThe Land Registration Act 2002 "LRA 2002" introduced far reaching changes to English property law.

One of the effects of these changes for the Church Commissioners was that certain historical rights and interests in mines and minerals owned in most cases for many years and in some cases for centuries might have been lost if not registered or otherwise protected within a strict timeframe.

Since 2004 the Church Commissioners have been working to register their mineral interests in line with the Government's Land Registry requirements, as any responsible landowner is doing before the end of the October 2013deadline. This does not create any new interests or rights and is confined to properly registering what the Commissioners have in most cases owned for many years, and in some cases for centuries.

Consequently this is simply an exercise to protect existing rights and interests made vulnerable by the change in the law. There are no particular plans to mine under any property. The focus is registration and protection.

There is absolutely no link with fracking.

Home owners have been receiving notices from the Land registry since 2008 but the deadline for registration expires in October 2013 and so an increased number of these notices have been sent over the past months. The conflation of these letters with the issue of fracking has been led by the media rather than by fact.

The registration programme does not create any new rights or interests. This is therefore all about properly registering and protecting existing interests so that all parties can see and understand who owns what. These interests do not include ownership of coal or petroleum, both of which were nationalised, nor gold and silver, which belong to the Crown.

Further detail can be found on the Church of England website