Tell the Government to protect National Parks from fracking

Earlier this year, it looked as though National Parks would be safe from fracking when the Government promised to ban drilling for shale gas or oil in or under protected areas. But we’re still waiting for them to put in place the necessary safeguards and are now becoming increasingly worried about whether this is actually going to happen.

Other charities share our concerns and we’ve recently joined forces with the RSPB, CPRE and The Wildlife Trusts to ask our supporters to call on the Government to fulfil their promise and ensure that National Parks and other protected areas are safe from fracking.

The link below will take you to a webpage with a template email to send to Amber Rudd, the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. This is your opportunity to tell the Government why National Parks and other protected areas should be excluded from fracking. These messages always have more impact if they’re in your own words so please do adapt both the subject line and the message itself. You might want to say why National Parks are important to you and you could also mention some of these key reasons why National Parks should be protected:

• National Parks are essential to the national’s health and well-being and are hugely valued as places to escape from the stresses of everyday life – there are 90 million visits to England’s National Parks each year.
• National Parks contribute over £10 billion to the economy each year and much of this is generated by businesses which rely on a high quality environment for their success.
• Almost 30% of the land in England recognised as being of international important for wildlife is in National Parks.

Please email Amber Rudd today.

UPDATE 06/11/2015

We’re pleased that the Government has listened to the concerns that we and others have been raising about fracking in National Parks and other protected areas. The consultation published this week is an important step in the right direction as it proposes that there should be no surface drilling in these areas.

However, it does nothing to prevent fracking activity taking place below the surface and our position remains that there should be no fracking in or under National Parks, given the potentially significant environmental implications.