The Green Party has responded to a new briefing paper published by the Church of England, which backs fracking as a way to transfer to a low carbon economy. [1]
Jonathan Bartley, Green Party co-leader, said:
“The Church of England should be showing leadership. Sadly, it appears to be behind the curve once again, as it has been in its divestment policies. If we are to tackle climate change together and transition to a low carbon economy, the Church should be playing its part, not supporting dirty, expensive and dangerous fracking.
“Where its money is, there its heart will be also. Fracking companies are already eyeing up church land following this news [2]. Opening up 100,000 acres of church land for drilling would be disastrous for our environment, security and economy. The Church should not give into temptation.
“We’ve just had the hottest year on record and a climate change denier is about to become president of the US. It’s never been more important to protect the future of our planet. Instead of backing fracking we should be investing in renewables and leaving fossil fuels where they belong – in the ground.”
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