Keith Taylor, Green Party MEP for the
South East, has responded to the failed attempt to halt
fracking in Lancashire, as campaigners' bid for an injunction
against Cuadrilla's plans to begin operations this week,
on safety grounds, was dismissed by the High Court
[1].
"I want to thank campaigners for their
efforts in the High Court; I share their disappointment with
the outcome. But we must remember that, ultimately, it is the
government's full-throated and blind support for fracking,
despite all the evidence, that has led us to this point. It is
a sad day for democracy, for residents and for our planet. It
proves we cannot trust the Tories on climate
change."
"This week, climate scientists from
across the globe pleaded with world leaders to take
unprecedented action to divest from fossil fuels and
decarbonise their economies to avert the very worst effects of
a climate breakdown that is already in progress [2]. Today, a
government-backed bid to revive a dangerous and destructive
fracking industry in England, against the wishes of the local
community and local authority, has been given the green
light."
"For all their warm words and
greenwashing, the Tories have been conspiring with their
friends in the filthy fossil fuel industry all along.
Ministers' climate denial is insidious and
disastrous."
"Britain under the Tories is a genuinely
terrifying place. The ignorance of evidence and the pursuit of
climate-destructive policies at any cost imperils any future we
hope to build for the generations to come. History will not
judge the Tories kindly. Greens will continue standing on the
frontlines of the fight to protect our planet and keep
supporting all of those brave heroes like the Frack Free Four
who have put their lives and liberty on the line to do the same
[2]."
