Today, while the people of Ryedale are out on the streets of Malton to protest against the plans for hundreds of unconventional gas wells in North Yorkshire, I am writing an open letter to the major funder, Barclays bank and its chief executive officer, Anthony Jenkins.
Barclays justifys its huge investment in “fracking” with bland assurances that regulation will make it safe. I am asking Mr Jenkins to do his homework on this, consult his conscience and change course.
I have gone into some detail for him, as that is where the devil is – bland assurances are not enough.
My own conclusion after doing my homework for the past 18 months is that regulation cannot make fracking safe in the UK and that our current Government is fudging the issue. I quote my references from among some of the many peer reviewed reports that have been piling up on unconventional gas extraction since 2012.
Friends of the Earth are running an online letter-writing campaign to Barclays where other readers can quickly add their voices, go to
foe.co.uk/node/75166/done?sid=263179&token=e6d71eae01654cd10079e762b2cb918b
Linda Hurrell, York
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