Hi there,
Just wanted to share a bit more news about the results of last week’s vote on a fracking moratorium in the Parliament’s Industry Committee. Please read my blog for more details:
http://www.foodandwatereurope.org/blogs/just-one-vote-short/
30 votes in favour means that at least the social-democrat group S&D, the Greens, the left-wing GUE and the Italian 5-star MEPs voted in favour of the fracking moratorium amendment. I am particularly pleased that (most of) the S&D MEPs seem to be turning against fracking. Maybe the liberal ALDE group also supported the amendment … I am still trying to find out.
As for the individual votes of MEPs, there was no roll-call. So, there is no way of knowing who voted in favour or against. Which is really too bad … will try to make sure that this will happen next time for sure. I am told that it is rather unusual to have roll-call votes at the level of the EP committees.
We were also ‘lucky’ in the sense that all 3 UK MEPs (Labour, UKIP and Conservative) were not present to vote, as they would have all voted against the amendment.
Nevertheless, none of the dozen amendments, introduced by right-wing MEPs, got a majority … which really shows that the Parliament is not buying the idea that ‘indigenous energy sources’ like shale gas can help the EU to achieve better ‘energy security’.
I am also happy that more than 700 people used our online action on this vote … I am sure that this caught the attention of some MEPs at least. See the thank you message below that was sent to our online supporters.
One last thing: our press release , which Geraldine already circulated.
http://www.foodandwatereurope.org/pressreleases/european-parliaments-industry-committee-close-to-endorsing-immediate-moratorium-on-fracking-showing-political-support-for-shale-gas-is-waning/
Cheers,
G
Geert Decock
Director EU Affairs – Food & Water Europe
Tel: +32 (0)2 893 10 45
Mobile: +32 (0)484 629 491
Email: gdecock@fweurope.org
Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @FoodWaterEurope
Website: www.foodandwatereurope.org
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Just One Vote Short!
By Geert Decock
Quick newsflash! Some Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) were given the opportunity to take a clear stance on fracking on May 7. They could vote in favour or against an amendment (nr 366) that called for an immediate moratorium on fracking in the EU, urging Member States not to authorise any new unconventional hydraulic fracturing operations in the EU. We are thrilled to report that – of the 60 Members of the Parliament’s Industry, Research and Energy Committee – half of them (30!) voted in favour of this amendment.
This is the closest that the movement to stop fracking has ever come to getting (part of) an institution of the European Union endorsing a moratorium, and shows that political support for fracking and shale gas in the European Parliament is crumbling. And this is the Parliament’s Industry committee, which is usually in favour of ‘business’ – and by business, we mean Big Business like Big Oil & Gas.
The vote happened after months of debate about the 800 amendments that were introduced to change the initial draft report of centre-right MEP Algirdas Saudargas. There were so many amendments, because Mr Saudargas had written a report that was very vague on a lot of issues. Make no mistake, however; this vagueness works very much in favour of the status quo and the well-established industries, such as large utilities, oil and gas companies and the nuclear sector, among others. One section of the report stressed that a long-term strategy for developing indigenous energy sources should be further promoted in the EU; another noted that any energy source that might contribute to energy security in the Union should be taken into account and developed in full compliance with environmental requirements.
Renewables are included in “indigenous energy sources”. But so are coal, oil and gas. The introduction of the term “indigenous energy sources” is a trick by Big Oil & Gas to shift the focus away from renewables and frame the political discussions in Brussels in such a way that fossil fuels are discussed on par with renewables.
Luckily, some MEPs (such as Javor, Van Brempt, Werner, Cabezón Ruiz, Rodríguez-Piñero Fernández and Krehl) saw this danger and introduced an amendment in favour of an immediate moratorium on fracking to make clear that fracking for shale gas cannot be part of these so-called “indigenous energy sources”.
We are also happy to report that all the other amendments that sought to explicitly promote shale gas and other unconventional oil and gas did not make it into the final report. It shows that fracking for shale gas remains deeply unpopular. Shale gas or fracking cannot even be called by name, but needs to be covered up by vague notions like “indigenous energy sources”. Fracking is a dirty word. And we intend to keep it that way!
Thanks to the hundreds of EU citizens (747 to be precise) that took our online action and wrote to 104 MEPs to demand their support for a fracking moratorium. This vote has shown that your support for our campaign to ban fracking in the EU makes a difference. Stay tuned.
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-PRESS RELEASE
FOOD & WATER EUROPE > PRESS RELEASES > BIG OIL & GAS > EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT’S INDUSTRY COMMITTEE CLOSE TO ENDORSING IMMEDIATE MORATORIUM ON FRACKING, SHOWING POLITICAL SUPPORT FOR SHALE GAS IS WANING
May 7th, 2015
European Parliament’s Industry Committee Close to Endorsing Immediate Moratorium on Fracking, Showing Political Support for Shale Gas Is Waning
Brussels – Food & Water Europe is thrilled that the European Parliament’s Industry, Research & Energy Committee just about endorsed an immediate moratorium on fracking in the EU in a close vote – 30 in favour and 30 against – on one of the amendments to the report of MEP Saudargas about an ‘European Energy Security Strategy’. Coming just one vote short shows that the public acceptance of shale gas among Members of the European Parliament is crumbling, as the evidence about the negative environmental impacts of fracking is mounting. With an online letter writing campaign, Food & Water Europe enabled European citizens to call on their newly elected Members of the European Parliament to take a strong stance against fracking. These efforts clearly paid off, as half of the Industry Committee members voted in favour of amendment 366, which reads as follows:
16 a. On the basis of the precautionary principle and on the principle that preventive action should be taken, taking into account the risks and the negative climate, environmental and health impacts involved in hydraulic fracturing for the exploitation of unconventional fracking and the gaps identified in the EU regulatory regime for shale gas activities, urges Member States not to authorise any new unconventional hydraulic fracturing operations in the EU
“Today’s vote in the Industry Committee shows that there is a growing concern among Members of the European Parliament about the negative impacts of fracking,” said Food & Water Europe Director of EU Affairs Geert Decock. “This close vote – just one vote short of a majority – should send a message to the European Commission that shale gas has no place in the EU energy mix. Now is the time to further reduce our gas consumption by investing in renewables and energy efficiency.”
The final version of the Saudargas report offers strong support for “developing smart grids”, “continued support for the construction of nearly zero-energy buildings” and draws attention to the need for “moderation of energy demand, in particular energy demand used for heating”. All these measures – if given strong support – will dramatically decrease the EU’s gas consumption, reduce the EU’s reliance on foreign gas suppliers and make the supposed ‘need’ for shale gas in the EU obsolete.
Contact: Geert De Cock tel. +32 (0)2 893 10 45, mobile +32 (0)484 629.491, gdecock(at)fweurope.org
Food & Water Europe is the European program of Food & Water Watch, a nonprofit consumer organization based in the United States that works to ensure the food, water and fish we consume is safe, accessible and sustainable. So we can all enjoy and trust in what we eat and drink, we help people take charge of where their food comes from, keep clean, affordable, public tap water flowing freely to our homes, protect the environmental quality of oceans, force government to do its job protecting citizens, and educate about the importance of keeping shared resources under public control.
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