Public opinion stands in way of EU shale gas (fracking) revolution
If the oil and gas industry thought that a US-style shale gas revolution would seamlessly find its way across the Atlantic, it has had a rude awakening. Getting public support for fracking in Europe risks descending into a street-fight between industry and environmental NGOs.
A survey by pollsters ICM found that 44 percent of Britons felt that the country should drill for shale gas. with 26 percent opposed. However, when asked whether they would be comfortable with fracking near to their home, opinion was split down the middle - 40 percent opposed, 40 percent supportive and 20 percent undecided. In other words: don't frack in my back yard.
Moreover, environmental protection regulation is stricter across Europe than it is in the US. Nor is the regulatory framework as fragmented between local, state and federal level as in the states, where the industry also carries a lot of political lobbying muscle through candidate campaign contributions.
It seems clear that the oil and gas industry in Europe is going to have to do a lot more work to convince public opinion than its US counterparts. ... But it increasingly clear that - to Europeans, at least - advocates of shale gas extraction need to do more to assuage public fears that fracking will not cause long-term environmental damage.
http://euobserver.com/energy/121140
It is good that European environmentalists and the public at large are having more success fighting the industry push for cracking.