Tory energy policy is 'grotesquely incoherent', says former Special Representative for Climate Change

The Tory approach to energy policy is ‘grotesquely incoherent’, according to the UK’s former Special Representative for Climate Change.

Former diplomat John Ashton, who served as the UK’s Special Representative for Climate Change from 2006-12, has blasted Westminster’s approach to fracking – accusing the Tories of steamrollering over the views of local communities and claiming the party is putting short term political expediency before the national interest.

Ashton also questioned plans to privatise the Green Investment Bank, saying the move “ought to be a matter of great concern”.

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Speaking at a public lecture on fracking, Ashton said: “The new Conservative Government has not just widened the goalposts again, to be on the safe side it has also sent off the goalkeeper – announcing new measures to make it even easier for Whitehall to force through planning approvals [for fracking] if local authorities object, or even if they just refuse to be rushed into a decision.

He said: “Just as the UK Government has been making it harder for local communities to resist fracking, it has also been making it harder for them to install wind turbines – even where they are locally popular.

“Meanwhile according to new analysis by Bloomberg, onshore wind is not just the cheapest renewable option, it is now the cheapest form of electricity full stop. It is cheaper in the UK than coal or gas. That kind of grotesque incoherence is a very bad sign in politics. It tells you that the party interest and the short term political expediency of those in charge is being put before the national interest. It tells you much of what you really need to know about whether there is a genuine economic case, a national interest economic security case for fracking.”

He said: “If I lived in Lancashire I would oppose fracking in Lancashire and fracking in the UK with all my might. I would ask, if fracking is so safe, why are so many health professions concerned about it? Why was it banned in the state of New York on health grounds? If fracking is so clean, why won’t fracking companies promise up front to accept full liability for any damages it causes to the environment or other sectors of the economy?”

“The dirty secret of the faking industry in Britain is that there is a world of difference between building a few exploratory wells and scaling up to the hundreds you need if you want to make money out of them.

He added: “It is disruptive, it is intrusive. It is not just the wells but the compressors and the pipelines and the truck movements and everything else that goes with them. It does change the character of a place and in rural areas it does industrialise the landscape.”

Ashton was speaking at an event organised by Friends of the Earth Scotland.

The lecture coincided with the news the Scottish Government has placed a moratorium on Underground Coal Gasification (UCG) while it considers the impact of the technology.

Friends of the Earth Scotland head of campaigns Mary Church warned that UCG was “even riskier” than fracking.