Debate contribution: Ban Petroleum Licensing and Fracking

Debate contribution by Mr John Blair on 29 April 2024.

MLA

Mr John Blair

Party at the time

Alliance Party

Date

29 April 2024

Type

Debate contribution

Business

Private Members' Business

Heading

Ban Petroleum Licensing and Fracking

Assembly identifier

Official Report component 4486625

Read the official Assembly record

Text

The Alliance Party has stood in the Chamber not just today but several times in the past to speak in support of a ban on all forms of exploration and extraction of oil and gas in Northern Ireland, as well as to make clear its opposition to fracking. On this occasion, I take the opportunity to address the motion from an environmental perspective. First, I note that the exploration, drilling and extraction of hydrocarbons in Northern Ireland will severely obstruct our efforts to meet the climate change targets set under the Climate Change Act (Northern Ireland) 2022. According to recent statistics from the Department for the Economy, only 45% of the electricity consumed in Northern Ireland in 2023 was generated from renewable sources, representing a 5% decrease from the previous year. It is essential that we take significant steps to improve those figures if we are to meet our legally binding target of producing 80% of our electricity from renewable sources by the year 2030. If we are to reach net zero, it is imperative that we prioritise the transition to utilising clean and renewable sources of energy. That shift would help protect our natural environment, including helping to increase biodiversity and protect our waterways. It would also help reduce our dependence on finite resources that are becoming increasingly scarce. Investment in renewable energy sources, such as solar, wind and hydropower, must therefore be increased. Additionally, there should be investment in alternative modes of transport, such as public transport networks, active travel opportunities and electric vehicle infrastructure. Those changes would help mitigate the effects that we already experience as a result of climate change and secure a more sustainable future for all of us. The practice of fracking continues to cause significant worry and apprehension among the residents of Northern Ireland. That includes my constituents in South Antrim, whose primary concern is the drilling activities that will potentially take place in or around Lough Neagh. It is the largest freshwater lake in the UK, a designated area of special scientific interest (ASSI) and home to several nature reserves. It is not an area to be destroyed on the whim of large-profit businesses that care nothing for our natural environment, and I need hardly point out —.

I will come to that in one second.

Thank you, Madam Principal Deputy Speaker. Before I respond to the Member's intervention, I stress that I need hardly point out the recent environmental challenges at Lough Neagh and the impact that those have had on communities. I thank the Member for his intervention. We should look at everything on a case-by-case basis. He will know from the tone of what I am saying, however, that my response to drilling is instinctively negative. If the Member compares the areas of Northern Ireland designated for such exploration by some, he will see that we are a many times multiple — over 20% of our land mass — compared with single percentages in the rest of GB, right down to 0·8% in one region. I am pleased at a local level. My Alliance colleague Councillor Jay Burbank successfully brought a similar motion to Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council in the recent past. It is unfortunate, however, that that has not been replicated in the other council areas. For instance, my understanding is that the DUP, the Ulster Unionist Party and, indeed, the SDLP councillors on Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council opposed and obstructed such a proposal. It is simply illogical not to have cross-party support at all levels of government for a ban to address what is undoubtedly a widespread concern. It was necessary to prevent petroleum licensing and fracking years ago, and we must continue in the same spirit of environmental protection. While we on these Benches agree in principle with the amendment, which seeks a ban before the end of 2024, the reality is that achieving such a ban in that short time frame is, unfortunately, highly unlikely, but we support the motion and the amendment on the basis of that principle.

In the interim, and before the legislative ban, the Economy Minister must send a clear message that, in Northern Ireland, it is no longer open season regarding these outdated and environmentally damaging practices. We cannot effectively combat climate change while continuing to support industries that contribute substantially to it.

727 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.

Assessment

Not flagged

Jev’s structured answers

Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:20 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.

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