Head of UNEP issues stark warning on fracking
Executive Director of the United Nations Environment Programme warns that fracking could delay transition to low carbon economy
The head of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) has issued a stark warning that shale gas could put severe strain on global efforts to limit climate change.
Achim Steiner, Executive Director of UNEP and Under Secretary-General of the UN, was speaking at a high-level ocean summit and also voiced concerns that switching from a fossil based industry and economy to natural gas would delay the renewable energy transition and the implementation of a ‘green economy’.
The shale gas industry has experienced a significant boom in the second half of 2013 which has seen uptake increase in the USA and parts of Europe.
Speaking about shale gas at the oceans summit, Steiner said: "If it is used as a means of not investing in the transition to a renewable energy economy then I think it will become a liability in our struggle to meet climate change targets over this century,".
Steiner argued that the increased use of natural gas through fracking was delaying the transition to low-carbon fuels that would limit greenhouse gas emissions and avoid the catastrophic temperature rise that this would eventually cause.
