Energy crisis spurs Britain to end its fracking ban, digging up a long-running debate
The U.K. government lifted its ban on fracking Thursday, citing the need to increase domestic energy supply following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In her first major address on Sept. 8, new Prime Minister Liz Truss said ending the ban on extracting the U.K.’s “huge reserves of shale … could get gas flowing in as soon as six months, where there is local support.”
Related Knowledge Center: Energy security and pricing
The United States achieved net energy independence in 2020, but that has not insulated the nation from the roiling of energy markets in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Europe has been a large consumer of Russian natural gas, and the effort to wean itself, with the help of the United States, has strained markets and endangered global efforts to address the climate crisis.