BBC News, 11
October 2013
Related
Stories
- France insists no U-turn on shale
- 'Far more' UK shale gas resources
- Company to apply for more fracking
President Hollande promised to uphold the ban introduced by his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy |
France's
constitutional council has rejected an attempt to overturn a ban on fracking,
the controversial method of extracting gas from rock.
US-based
firm Schuepbach Energy challenged a ban imposed in 2011 based on potential
risks to the environment.
President
Francois Hollande has opposed the technology, as have the Greens, a partner in
the governing coalition.
France,
which relies heavily on nuclear power, has some of the largest shale gas
deposits in Europe.
Following
the 2011 ban, Schuepbach, which had two exploration licences cancelled in
southern France, appealed on four counts.
"The
constitutional council threw out these four complaints and ruled that the
disputed components of the 13 July 2011 law comply with the constitution,"
the council said in a statement.
The
Constitutional Council, made up of judges and former French presidents, has the
power to annul laws if they are deemed to be unconstitutional.
France's
Energy Minister Philippe Martin said the ruling meant the law banning fracking,
in which pressurised water, chemicals and sand are pumped underground to
release gas trapped in shale formations, was now safe from other legal
challenges.
"It's
a legal victory, but also an environmental and political one," Mr Martin
said at a news briefing.
The US
Energy Information Administration estimates shale gas reserves worth five
trillion cubic meters could lie in French soil, mainly in the Paris basin and
the Rhone valley.
French oil
giant Total is still awaiting a ruling after it separately appealed at the end
of 2011 against the government's decision to ban its own exploration permit by
the south-eastern town of Montelimar.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.