| inbluevt | Date: Monday, 2013/10/21, 6:30 PM | Message # 1 | DMCA |
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Shale gas companies operating in Europe will soon have to respect a muscular legislative package which the European Commission is preparing to publish in December or January, EurActiv has learned.
This will almost certainly take the form of an unconventional fuels directive, similar to other EU laws covering wastewater and environmental impact assessments.
“We will be proposing a legal framework for shale gas in Europe to minimise its risks,” a well-placed EU source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“Our intention is to provide clarity as to what the rules are for business, and investors, and to provide reassurance for the public in terms of the environmental impacts of shale gas and any impact it has on public health,” he continued. “And as the environmental impact of shale
gas could be bigger than for conventional gas or oil, we intend to make sure that the environmental legislation is robust enough to cater for those risks.”
EU directives have a binding outcome, while allowing EU states leeway in reaching them. They are considered apropos for shale gas because the choice of energy mix is a national competence under the principle of ‘subsidiarity’, and member states cannot be stopped from exploiting it.
But if they choose to do so, the new proposal will oblige several tough environmental safeguards.
“It has to be a legal framework applicable across the EU and not just a vague set of guidelines,” the official said. “When that happens you are at the mercy of the various national systems and how they are applied, and if they are challengeable in court.”
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Message edited by inbluevt - Monday, 2013/10/21, 6:32 PM |
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