New report: No fracking way | Friends of the Earth Europe

New report: No fracking way | Friends of the Earth Europe

How the EU-US trade deal risks expanding fracking in Europe and the US

A trade deal between the EU and the US risks opening the backdoor
for the expansion of fracking in Europe and the US, reveals a new report
released today [1]. As part of the deal currently being negotiated,
energy companies could be allowed to take governments to private
arbitrators if they attempt to regulate or ban fracking and the
dangerous exploitation of unconventional fossil fuels. Campaigners are
urging the EU not to include such rights in trade deals.

The
fourth round of trade negotiations on the Transatlantic Trade and
Investment Partnership between the EU and the US takes place next week
in Brussels (March 10-14). If agreed, a clause in the deal, known as the
'investor-state dispute settlement' mechanism (ISDS), could give
special rights to companies to claim damages in private investor
friendly arbitrators if they deem their investments (including future
profits) are adversely affected by changes in regulation or policy.

Such
a clause would make it much harder for countries to ban or impose
strong regulations on fracking for shale gas and other unconventional
fossil fuels, for fear of having to pay millions in compensation. This
would be regardless of the evidence of the environmental harm caused by
fracking, and of the opposition by local residents and other citizens.
More broadly, the ISDS clause would likely thwart governments' efforts
to address global warming and reduce dependency on fossil fuels, the
report states.

New report: No fracking way