The Kirk of Scotland has confirmed that it will not be following the same theological approach to shale gas and fracking in the UK as the Church of England.
After setting up an ethical and doctrinal working group two years ago on fracking for shale gas, the Church of England concluded last month that there are no doctrinal reasons to ban fracking (as is ‘temporarily’ the situation in Scotland) and that public health and safety can be assured within a robust regulatory regime.
The Right Rev. Dr. Russell Barr, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Kirk of Scotland, explained: “Our position is more sceptical than that recently taken by the Church of England.
“We support the Scottish Government moratorium on fracking but we also acknowledge that over three quarters of homes in Scotland are heated by gas.
“As North Sea gas fields run down we either have to move away from gas for domestic heating or find a replacement source of gas. This poses some tough choices for the Scottish Government as gas is generally a low cost way of heating homes.
“We would be very concerned about any action would add to the already unacceptable levels of fuel poverty in Scotland.”
See also:
God gives green-light to shale gas fracking in England (but SNP claims higher authority for Scottish ban)
See also:
Scot-Govt launches ‘Talking Fracking’ public consultation on unconventional onshore oil and shale gas
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