Fracking Brussels: A who's who of the shale gas lobby | Friends of the Earth Europe

Fracking Brussels: A who's who of the shale gas lobby | Friends of the Earth Europe:

Oil companies and lobby groups in their pay have been engaged in an underground offensive in Brussels to prevent stricter safety regulations for shale gas, according to a new report released today.

The report, 'Fracking Brussels', exposes the key players – including Shell, Total and ExxonMobil, and well-known lobby groups BusinessEurope and OGP – and reveals a thick web of lobbying activity. Industry associations, PR agencies, law firms, paid-for scientific reports, and even MEPs, national governments and Barroso himself have been used to promote the interests of the shale gas industry and undermine credible opposition to shale gas expansion, despite the huge uncertainty surrounding its economic viability.

Antoine Simon, shale gas campaigner for Friends of the Earth Europe said: "An underground offensive by the oil industry has managed to silence well-founded concerns about the dangers of fracking. It has side-stepped the growing body of evidence on the environmental, economic and health risks of shale gas development, and undermines Europe-wide opposition from citizens to the unconventional fossil fuel."