“Fear of fracking”
Production of natural gas is declining in Germany, and as corporate demand for an increase is becoming more marked, environmentalists fear fracking could become an accepted alternative, Thomas Strünkelnberg writes in Die Welt. Such fears persist despite the broad public acceptance of natural gas as an alternative fuel in home heating, and of the role of gas-fired power stations in the energy transition. People are especially worried about the potential effects of fracking on the environment. While there is a legal ban on commercial fracking in Germany, exceptions can be made for trial drillings as part of scientific research to explore environmental effects. According to critics, this legal clause could be a backdoor to unwanted fracking, the article says.
Read the article here.