A debate on whether to ban fracking in Scotland is to be held at the Scottish Parliament today.
The Scottish Government set out plans earlier this month to outlaw the controversial practice for extracting oil and gas from the ground.
Onshore fracking involves injecting liquid into the ground at high pressure in order to extract deposits of oil and gas.
The method is seen as controversial due to suspected public health concerns and the much argued impact on the environment.
A cross party debate will be held at Holyrood this afternoon to decide whether to endorse the government’s decision to introduce an immediate and effective ban on onshore unconventional oil and gas developments.
Energy minister Paul Wheelhouse put forward the “preferred position” of the government to outlaw the process at Holyrood at the start of October.
But the SNP were quickly accused of ignoring Scotland’s “rich heritage and expertise” in oil and gas by disregarding the process from plans for a future energy mix.
The decision to support a ban means that Scotland will lose out on more than 3,000 jobs, a £6.5billion economic windfall and more than £4billion in tax receipts, according to the UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG) trade body.
Foreign markets like the United States have seen a boom in oil and gas exports due to the low costs associated with turning shale extraction “on and off” according to the oil price.
The recovery of onshore unconventional oil and gas has been subject to a moratorium in Scotland since January 2015 as a public consultation into the controversial method was carried out.
Mr Wheelhouse said that of the 60,535 responses the “overwhelming majority opposed”.
He revealed that 99% of respondents were against the method.
However, campaign groups, including the activist network Avaaz, urged respondents to “flood” the Scottish Government with responses to the consultation.
Of the total responses 86% were campaign responses or petitions.
Mr Wheelhouse cited the “moral responsibility” to tackle climate change and particular concerns over a lack of hard evidence on health effects.
He added that the government had “not taken the process or decision lightly” but added that it was in the “best interest of the people in this country as a whole”.
The Scottish Government has now written to local authorities across Scotland to make clear that the directions that gave effect to the moratorium will remain in place.
A parliamentary vote will take place later today after the debate.
This will be followed up by a Strategic Environmental Assessment.
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