Scared By Green Opposition, German Govt Puts The Breaks On Shale Development
The German environment minister has said the extraction of natural gas using so-called fracking technology wouldn’t start any time soon in Germany. He has announced that laws will be stiffened rather than softened.
Germany’s center-right government was working on new laws governing the use of so-called fracking technology in natural gas extraction, seeking to close existing legislative loopholes, German environment minister Peter Althaus said Monday.
“The message is that we aim to limit the use of fracking rather than facilitating it,” he told public radio broadcaster Deutschlandfunk.
Altmaier also said that he couldn’t see fracking being used anywhere in Germany in the foreseeable future, and that he wouldn’t advise anyone to seek a drilling license soon.
The statement followed German media reports at the weekend suggesting the conservative-led government of Chancellor Angela Merkel was seeking to push through softer rules for using the controversial technology.
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