Shale gas extraction: issues of particular relevance to the European Union

Shale gas extraction: issues of particular relevance to the European Union. EASAC, October 2014, 16 p.

http://www.easac.eu/home/reports-and-statements/detail-view/article/shale-gas-ex.html

Presentation (© EASAC) :

In this statement, EASAC addresses three specific concerns that are being put forward in the public debate about the exploitation of Europe’s shale gas potential:

1. the implications of a high population density throughout Europe (in combination with the problem of water usage);
2. the question of methane leakage;
3. the challenge of (local) public acceptance.

The statement finds that although these concerns are justified in general, all three of them can be mitigated by use of best practices and proper regulation. The statement thus concludes that the issues studied in the report need to be carefully reflected by policy-makers, but that they are not an unsurmountable obstacle for exploring and using Europe’s shale gas potential. Currently the scale of the shale gas resources and the economic viability of its extraction in EU countries remain uncertain and, without exploratory drilling, this uncertainty will continue.

–> A ce propos :

Le gaz de schiste ne révolutionnera pas l’énergie en Europe, Actu-environnement, 17/11/2014 http://www.actu-environnement.com/ae/news/gaz-schiste-europe-academie-sciences-23240.php4

Bien qu’il n’existe pas de raison scientifique d’interdire son extraction, le gaz de schiste ne résoudra pas les problèmes de sécurité d’approvisionnement énergétique de l’Europe, juge le conseil européen de l’académie des sciences…

Danièle Revel

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