Britain’s new prime minister, Liz Truss, said Thursday she is lifting a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing — or fracking — that’s been in effect since 2019. Truss said it’s part of a larger plan to increase domestic oil and gas development, aimed at lowering energy costs across the U.K.
Prime Minister Liz Truss: “We will end the moratorium on extracting our huge reserves of shale, which could get gas flowing as soon as six months, where there is local support for it.”
The plan was swiftly condemned by environmentalists, climate campaigners and some opposition members of Parliament. The civil disobedience group Extinction Rebellion promised more confrontational actions like blockades. One activist told The Guardian, “We will pull out all the stops. And this time we won’t settle for a moratorium either. We’re just going to keep on hammering this until we get the proper ban on fracking.”