Fracking: the facts
What is fracking?
Fracking contributes to climate breakdown. It's a way of extracting gas or oil which is trapped inside rocks and won't flow freely on its own.
To get the gas or oil out, the rock has to be artificially fractured. This is known as "hydraulic fracturing" or fracking for short.
Fluids are pumped down the well at very high pressure. This fractures the rock and, when the pressure is released, the gas or oil flows back up the well.
The UK is facing a growing cost of living crisis alongside renewed pressure on energy prices, driven by instability in global energy markets following the war on Iran, and our continued reliance on fossil fuels. Rising fuel and food costs have added to concerns about household bills. There have been increasing calls to expand domestic oil and gas production in the North Sea – and to lift the de facto ban on fracking that has been in place since 2019. But there are many reasons why fracking and new fossil fuel projects are not the answer to the energy crisis.
1. Fracking won't cut UK energy bills
Supporters of fracking often argue it would lower UK energy bills. However, gas prices are set on the international market. Any gas produced in the UK would still be sold at global market rates, which are driven by worldwide supply and demand. There is no guarantee that the gas extracted would be used within the UK — most of it would likely be consumed abroad. Companies are unlikely to sell gas domestically at a discount when they could earn more money abroad. Additionally, the UK’s gas reserves are too small to significantly influence global prices.
2. Fracking risks earthquakes
In 2019, a 2.9-magnitude earthquake linked to Cuadrilla’s fracking operations in Lancashire led the then Conservative government to introduce a temporary ban (moratorium) on fracking. At the time, it said, “it is clear that we cannot rule out future unacceptable impacts on the local community” and that the moratorium would remain in place “unless and until further evidence is provided that [fracking] can be carried out safely here”. No such evidence has since been produced.
The tempoarary ban applies only to so-called high-volume fracking in shale. But the risk of earthquakes is not limited to this type. One of the UK’s leading geologists has recently warned that earthquakes from both high and low-volume fracking can be “equally large and equally unpredictable”.
We are aware that low volume-fracking has been proposed at three sites in England (Burniston, near Scarborough in North Yorkshire; West Newton, near Hull in East Yorkshire; and Wressle, near Scunthorpe in North Lincolnshire).
The distinction between ‘high-volume’ and ‘low-volume’ fracking is also misleading:
- The 2019 earthquake at Preston New Road (which led to the temporary ban) occurred even though the volume of fluid injected was below the threshold for high-volume fracking.
- The volumes of fluid proposed at Burniston exceed those at Preston New Road in 2019, but still fall below the official high-volume fracking threshold, and so the Burniston proposal is not caught by the existing temporary ban.
3. Fracking is not a quick fix
Even if fracking in England was safe and feasible, it would not deliver results quickly — establishing a UK fracking industry would take years. In early 2022, following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and amid UK gas supply problems, the then Business and Energy Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng wrote that “even if we lifted the fracking [ban] tomorrow, it would take up to a decade to extract sufficient volumes — and it would come at a high cost for communities and our precious countryside”. And there is no guarantee of success: Cuadrilla tried to frack in Lancashire for 8 years between 2011 and 2019 and produced no gas whatsoever.
4. Fracking contributes to climate change
Gas is a fossil fuel, whether it is imported from the Middle East, extracted from the North Sea or produced from fracking in the UK. All fossil fuels contribute to climate change. To avoid climate breakdown, we need to move away from fossil fuels as fast as possible, rather than looking for more sources of gas and oil and investing in more techniques to extract them, which pulls us in entirely the wrong direction.
5. There's minimal gas left to frack
Supporters of fracking claim that the UK is sitting on a gasfield which would supply the country for 50 years. However, experts remain sceptical about how much gas could be extracted and what the cost would be. For example, Professor Jon Gluyas, Director of the Durham Energy Institute at Durham University, has written, “Can fracking for shale gas alleviate the UK’s energy supply crisis? No! [...] The reserve [of shale gas] — which can be won by drilling and fracking is tiny”.
6. Fracking won’t create large numbers of jobs
Francis Egan, chief executive of fracking company Cuadrilla has claimed that fracking would create tens of thousands of jobs. However, his own company’s 2015 planning applications suggest a much smaller impact. They indicated that just 11 jobs would be created at each of its two sites in Lancashire, including jobs in the supply chain.
7. We could need hundreds or thousands of wells to frack
Supporters of fracking argue that fracking could replace UK gas imports. However, there are huge doubts about the quantity of gas available. And even if sufficient reserves were available, the scale of development required would be vast. Analysis for Friends of the Earth in 2018 found that replacing just 50% of the UK’s gas imports over a 15-year period would require drilling and fracking more than one well every day over the period — many of which would be in rural areas. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the gas extracted here would actually be consumed here, so it is untenable to claim that gas imports would be replaced.
8. Fracking impacts the environment and human health
One of the main concerns around fracking is the environmental and health risks associated with the process. A recent study based on analysis of the impacts of fracking in the US and elsewhere found that “As fracking operations in the United States and abroad have increased in frequency, size, and intensity, a significant body of evidence has emerged to demonstrate that these activities are harmful in ways that cannot be mitigated through regulation. Threats include detrimental impacts on public health, climate stability, water and air quality, farming and livestock, property values, economic vitality, and quality of life.”
9. Fracking remains hugely unpopular
Wherever fracking was proposed in the 2010s, there was huge local opposition. There have been over 1,600 local objections to the fracking project proposed at Burniston. High levels of resistance are likely if new proposals emerge in future.
Fracking remains unpopular: A recent opinion poll found that 47% opposed fracking compared to 28% who supported it. Local councils have also taken a clear position. In April 2026, councilors in East Riding of Yorkshire Council voted unanimously against fracking in their area.
And there are already splits within pro-fracking political parties. Although Reform UK argues for fracking nationally, the cabinet member for the environment in Reform-run Lancashire County Council has said that fracking “has been proven in Lancashire not to be safe” and Reform-led Scarborough Town Council voted unanimously against low-volume fracking in the local village of Burniston.
10. Fracking is a dangerous distraction from the real solutions
Fracking is a dangerous distraction from the measure that would actually address the energy crisis: increasing the roll-out of renewables, better energy storage and insulating the UK’s leaky homes. These solutions are faster to deliver, more affordable and more secure — and they will do more to bring down energy bills than relying on outdated and unreliable fossil fuels. The UK has abundant renewable energy resources. In 2025, renewables already generated over half of the UK’s electricity. With sustained commitment, the UK can build a cleaner, safer, and more affordable energy system for the future.
