UK Government Announces New Consultation On Banning Fracking

The UK government announced on Wednesday another change of heart for what concerns its shale plans, deciding to ban fracking in protected wildlife sites. 

It announced a new consultation on banning surface drilling from fracking in some conservation areas, including Sites of Special Scientific Interest.

The government was supposed to vote to allow fracking to take place under National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and World Heritage Sites on Wednesday. 

According to environmentalists, the vote is now expected to vote in the coming weeks. 

“This announcement might have banned drilling rigs from littering the landscape, but the government isn’t banning fracking pollution spilling over into our most fragile and treasured countryside” Greenpeace campaigner Hannah Martin commented in a note released on Wednesday.