My Lords, I will speak to Amendment 280 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, and Amendment 285 in the name of the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb. It is a great pleasure to follow the noble Lord, Lord Cameron of Dillington. It is great to see him in person, although we also appreciate seeing him virtually and hearing his expertise.
Amendment 280 would allow the Secretary of State to gain a stronger understanding of the impact of offshore wind farms on the environment, marine life and sea mammals. The UK is a global leader in offshore wind—Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said that we are the Saudi Arabia of wind power—but, with the energy source powering millions of homes across the country, it is also an area that the Government have identified for growth, with the world’s largest wind farm under construction off the north-east coast. To allow such expansion, Ministers have been uncharacteristically generous in extending the work visa waiver scheme for relevant workers.
As the noble Baroness, Lady McIntosh of Pickering, has said, there has not been enough research in this area; the noble Lord, Lord Teverson, said that we must look at the most favourable way to ensure that the decisions are right. The noble Baroness looked in particular at the impact of wind farms not just operationally but from a construction point of view on the ecosystem, looking at the fixed structures and turbines themselves.
3.45 pm
Wind farming is an important part of our energy mix. Concerns have been voiced for many years over its impacts on the environment, including the potential for displacement of breeding grounds and broader destruction of ecosystems. I hope the Minister can explain the work being undertaken by the department to expand its evidence base in this area. As noble Lords have said, more data is needed.
Amendment 285 is on a very different but equally important topic. I am a resident of Lancashire so speak with great concern about the impact of fracking,
as the noble Baroness, Lady Jones of Moulsecoomb, said, and pay tribute to the activists at the Preston New Road site, who have been there for over 1,000 days—I visited one afternoon in solidarity with them. In 2018, Cuadrilla was given permission to frack by this Government, against the wishes of local people and local councils. When it started, in just two months 57—I repeat, 57—earthquakes were detected in Lancashire. Cuadrilla actually stopped fracking five times because it triggered earthquakes that were bigger than government rules allowed. Even more disturbingly, a year later an earthquake measuring 2.9 on the Richter scale led to a review by the Oil and Gas Authority. Worryingly, it concluded that it was not possible to predict the probability or size of tremors caused by fracking.
A few months later, the Government launched a moratorium halting fracking and exploration with immediate effect. The campaign group Friends of the Earth was naturally delighted, saying:
“This moratorium is a tremendous victory for communities and the climate. For nearly a decade local people across the country have fought a … battle against this powerful industry. We are proud to have been part of that fight. We must now ensure that legislation is passed so that the ban is made permanent.”
Where is the legislation? Many years later, it is not here in the Environment Bill. Why? We now know from the Lancashire experiment that fracking is a risky way of extracting dirty energy. France, Germany, Ireland, Bulgaria, New York state, the Netherlands, Scotland and Wales all agree. Many risks surround fracking. The Government know this, or they would not have called a moratorium.
The noble Baroness, Lady Fox of Buckley, made some interesting points. Unfortunately, I cannot agree with any of them. According to the British Geological Survey, groundwater may be contaminated by extraction of shale gas, both from the constituents of shale gas, the formulation and deep injection of water containing a cocktail of additives used for hydraulic fracturing, and from flowback water, which may have a high content of saline formation water. In England, groundwater is used to supply a third of our drinking water.
The assertion that fracking will lead to a jobs boom is also not true; Cuadrilla stated in its Lancashire licence application that just 11 jobs would be created at each of the two sites. Most importantly, scientists agree that, if we are to avoid dangerous levels of global warming, fossil fuels need to stay in the ground. With every licence application comes huge environmental concern, local opposition and widespread protest. As mentioned in the other place by Ruth Jones MP, we believe this Bill is the Government’s chance to tell the fracking companies that their time is up. However, given the choice between doing something bold and doing nothing at all, we know what Defra under this Secretary of State always goes for.