Fracking in a Reluctant Europe

Trapped deep underground in shale rock beds, massive gas deposits have been identified in Europe, North America and elsewhere The potential benefits from shale gas exploration are huge.  But the method used to extract natural gas from shale fields – hydraulic fracturing (or ‘fracking’) - is increasingly controversial. While the benefits and risks of fracking are similar across the globe, the process has developed in dramatically different ways. In the US, shale extraction has proceeded at fever pitch, prompting a remarkable land rush by firms seeking to lock up drilling rights.  In Europe, shale reserves are also massive.  But development of  shale gas is slow, and the public most ambivalent. How might we explain Europe’s reluctance?  To address this question the proposed paper will go ‘beyond geography’ to identify and explore several competing explanations based on political, cultural, legal, institutional and economic variables. Identifying and analysing possible reasons for Europe’s comparative reluctance will shed light on this important energy development but also underline the distinctive (or not) features of Europe’s approach to security, energy, science and risk.