Green MEP supports Kent anti-fracking campaigner to bring a petition to the European Parliament

Keith Taylor, the Green MEP for Kent, is giving his support to an anti-fracking petition which will be brought by a Kent resident to the European Parliament’s Petitions Committee (1) tomorrow, Tuesday 9 October. Rosemary Rechter, a member of ‘East Kent Against Fracking’ will attend the committee meeting to read out a petition highlighting the concerns of many residents in East Kent about fracking for shale gas. Test drilling for extracting this gas near to Deal has already been given the go ahead by Kent County Council.
Keith Taylor MEP, a member of the Petitions Committee said: “I’m delighted that ‘East Kent Against Fracking’ is raising this important issue in the European Parliament. The UK government seems hell-bent on introducing this potentially dangerous extraction method but across the South East people are becoming increasingly concerned about the impacts that fracking could have on their local community. I’m glad that some of my constituents from the South East are voicing their opposition at an EU level.
He continued: “The risk of water contamination, environmental damage and increasing climate emissions caused by fracking for shale gas is just too great for us to depend on this as a viable energy source. Instead we must look to invest in genuinely renewable sources of energy which don’t leave a mess for future generations to deal with.”
Tomorrow’s meeting of the Petitions Committee will be dedicated to petitioners from across Europe who have brought petitions which question whether EU law is being correctly applied in countries where fracking has commenced, or is likely to be permitted. Petitons have been submitted from citizens in Bulgaria, Poland, France, Romania and the UK.
Rosemary Rechter, a member of ‘East Kent Against Fracking’ said: “Kent County Council has already agreed to testing for shale gas near Deal. Local people are very concerned about the impacts that this could have on our water, our health, our environment, our climate, our quality of life and our economy. There isn’t currently enough regulation in place to guard against these risks. The Uk government just isn’t listening so I’m now taking our concerns to the European Parliament with a petition, supported by our Green MEP, Keith Taylor.
She continued: “Contaminated water and polluted air cross national boundaries, and an increase in CO2 will affect all of us. We urgently need a properly formulated, funded and monitored regime of regulation throughout Europe. Until such protection is in place there should be a Europe wide Moratorium on the exploitation of shale gas.”