The Parliament: MEPs vote on 'important first step' towards dismantling the 'transition fuel' myth of shale gas

Europe's politicians are waking up to the dangers of unconventional fossil fuels, such as shale gas, and the risk that Europe could repeat the mistakes of America's shale gas free-for-all, argues Antoine Simon.

Hydraulic fracturing or fracking is the destructive technique used to explore and extract shale gas and other unconventional fossil fuels. It involves injecting millions of litres of water, sand and chemicals into a shale reservoir, at high pressure, to fracture the rock and release gas. 

Fracking came under justified scrutiny this week during the revision of the Environmental impact assessment directive. 

The result of the vote in the European parliament means the dangers of fracking during the exploration for, and extraction of, unconventional fossil fuels is now, for the first time, subject to mandatory assessments that take into account any potential negative social and environmental impacts. MORE