Shale Gas Extraction

Lord Mackinlay of Richborough Excerpts
Thursday 22nd September 2022

(2 years, 3 months ago)

Commons Chamber
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Jacob Rees-Mogg Portrait Mr Rees-Mogg
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I am not seeking to upset the devolution settlement.

Lord Mackinlay of Richborough Portrait Craig Mackinlay (South Thanet) (Con)
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Even before Putin’s illegal war in Ukraine, fracking had advantages because of the benefits for jobs, for investment, for tax revenues and for the positivity of the balance of payments, which I would rather were accruing here in the UK instead of our sending tens of billions to Qatar and other places. Is my right hon. Friend aware of the carbon dioxide savings from domestic energy supply? It has been calculated that 5 million tonnes of CO2 are emitted just from the cooling, declassification and transport of liquefied natural gas. That has to be a moral outrage.

Jacob Rees-Mogg Portrait Mr Rees-Mogg
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My hon. Friend is absolutely right, and he takes his argument through logically, unlike many Opposition Members. If we wish to reduce carbon emissions, we are better off using gas as a transition fuel that comes from our own resources, rather than importing it. That must be true: we have those resources, we need the transition fuel, and therefore we should try to extract it domestically.