Court finds no fracking ban in Scotland after INEOS Shale judicial review
- The Court of Session in Edinburgh concluded there is no fracking ban in Scotland.
- Lord Pentland’s judgment found the Scottish Government had effectively not known what it was doing when stating there was a ban.
- Environmental, business and regulatory assessments are still outstanding, so a formal ban may never be imposed.
- INEOS says planning applications should be considered on their merits and urges the government to honour court commitments.
Court ruling
The Court of Session in Edinburgh published a judgment in INEOS Shale’s judicial review concluding there is no fracking ban in Scotland. Lord Pentland effectively ruled that the Scottish Government had not imposed a legal ban and had been mistaken in public statements asserting one.
INEOS response
INEOS Shale’s Operations Director Tom Pickering welcomed the decision, saying a senior judge had concluded the government did not know what it was doing and that the finding will surprise those who heard ministers tell Parliament the opposite. INEOS criticised the government for caving to pressure from "ill-informed environmental activists" and for ignoring evidence from its own scientific experts.
Next steps and impact
The judgment notes environmental, business and regulatory assessments still need to be carried out, meaning a formal ban may never materialise. INEOS calls on the Scottish Government to honour court commitments to undertake a proper consideration of shale issues and expects that planning applications will be judged on their individual merits. The company also questioned why public funds were spent in court rather than clarifying policy earlier.
Source: INEOS