UK PM Rishi Sunak reinstates fracking ban

The new British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, made another reversal of his predecessor Liz Truss’s policy on fracking. A spokesperson said Sunak reimposed the ban on fracking in the country.

Sunak’s spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that the new prime minister and leader of the governing Conservative Party reimposed the ban on fracking, reversing Truss’s move to pause the ban – which would extract shale gas from rocks by breaking them up.

The pledge to ban fracking was part of the party’s 2019 manifesto, saying that it would not support fracking, which was already “outlawed” three years ago. Truss last month lifted the moratorium citing that the strengthening of the country’s energy supply was a major priority.

Sunak addressed the issue in parliament during his first session of Prime Minister’s Questions. Sunak stood by the 2019 commitment by the party. When the spokesperson was pressed on whether Sunak’s comments meant that the fracking ban was reimposed, the spokesperson said yes.

“You’ve got the position set out in the manifesto, which the prime minister pointed to. Obviously, it’ll be for the BEIS to come forward with a bit more detail on that,” said the spokesperson, referring to the Department for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy.

The opposition Labour Party argued that even when Sunak reversed Truss’s moratorium, it was still not a total ban on the practice. Fracking has also been opposed by environmental groups and local communities.

“The truth is that the Tories cannot be trusted on the issue,” said the Labour Party’s shadow climate and net zero secretary Ed Milliband. “The only way to ban fracking for good is to elect a Labour government.”

The prime minister’s office said Thursday that Sunak would not be attending the upcoming COP27 climate summit that will take place in Egypt next month, but other senior ministers will be attending in his place as he focuses on addressing domestic issues and the fiscal statement.

“The Prime Minister is not expected to attend the summit in Egypt due to other pressing domestic commitments, including preparations for the autumn statement,” said a spokesperson for Downing Street, adding that the United Kingdom remains committed to supporting the climate summit and “leading international action” to address climate change.