What The Frack?
We are encouraging our fans to take action - sign up to Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth’s petition to oppose government plans to change fracking legislation and instead champion clean energy sources which do not risk our global climate.
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In short, our addiction to fossil fuels is causing unprecedented changes on our planet, and the consequences are severe. We live in a world where the effects of climate change are increasingly real; from melting ice caps to rampant forest fires, it can no longer be denied that man-made carbon pollution is affecting our fragile planet. The scientific evidence is settled; global warming is real and already impacting people around the world. The question now is, “What are we doing about it?”
2015 is a critical year in the climate change debate, with new Sustainable Development Goals being finalised in September and the UN COP21 in Paris in December. Businesses and individuals taking voluntary action is part of the solution, but it isn’t enough. We need policy makers to act. Now more than ever, it's important that we put unrelenting pressure on our political leaders, and call for a climate policy that reduces pollution, creates jobs, and keeps stuff from melting.
Our stance at Ben & Jerry's is that we need to commit to the low carbon, renewable energy sources of the future. We stand for no new investments in fossil fuels, and it’s clear that seeking out new opportunities to extract fossil fuels is a step in the wrong direction. That’s why we are supporting and Friends of the Earth’s call to the UK government to stop the fast-tracking of fracking legislation.
Fracking is highly controversial, due to the potential local environmental impacts; from seismic activity to soil degradation and visual pollution, as well as the large amounts of water the process uses and potential for pollution of water resources. The big question is why is the UK government considering changing legislation on fracking when the focus should be on 100% clean energy?
The UK was the first country in the world to have a statutory framework on addressing climate change and has also been a leading voice in the development of EU climate change targets, and it’s crucial that the UK retains this positive role. The key report used by the UK government to support fracking (albeit in a highly regulated way), a joint report by the Royal Society and the Royal Academy of Engineering doesn't review the impact of fracking on climate change and clearly recommends the need to do so, stating:
‘Neither risks associated with the subsequent use of shale gas nor climate risks have been analysed [in this report]. Decision making would benefit from research into the climate risks associated with both the extraction and use of shale gas. Further benefit would also be derived from research into the public acceptability of all these risks in the context of the UK's energy, climate and economic policies’.
In the words of our founder, Ben Cohen, “If it’s melted, it’s ruined.”
LEARN MORE: www.greenpeace.co.uk and www.foe.co.uk