The UK Government and its advisory groups “marginalised or ignored” the environmental and public health ramifications of permitting shale gas extraction in England, according to new research.
The cross-disciplinary study from the University of Stirling found that industry was able to influence decision-making within the political, legal and planning framework – to the detriment of public health, with vulnerable and disadvantaged communities at greatest risk.
The Scottish Government has built a more ethical and environmentally just decision-making process into its energy policy linked to shale gas, the team added.
Published in the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, the study is the first of its kind – connecting environmental justice, air pollution and ethics – to examine the environmental and public health aspects of decision-making processes related to the shale gas industry in England. Professor Andrew Watterson, of the Faculty of Health Sciences and Sport, and Dr William Dinan, of the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, collaborated on the project.
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