DECC contradicts fracking poll
12 Aug 2014
Figures released by the Department of Energy & Climate Change (DECC) contradict yesterday’s poll that found the majority of the UK supports shale gas production.
A quarterly public attitudes tracker released today by government body DECC has found that of the 2,087 households surveyed in the UK, only 24% of respondents were in favour of shale gas extraction.
The DECC survey directly contradicts an opinion poll released yesterday by industry body UK Onshore Oil and Gas (UKOOG) that found of the 4,000 people it surveyed, 57% were in favour of hydraulic fracturing (fracking).
This tenth wave of the DECC survey suggests a decline in support for fracking since March 2014, which found 29% were in favour of shale gas extraction – which was only a slight improvement on December’s figures of 28%, and far lower than UKOOG’s figures.
The DECC survey also found that nearly half of respondents (47%) neither supported nor opposed shale extraction.
These figures again contradict the UKOOG survey which found only 16% of those surveyed were opposed to fracking, while 27% were undecided.
Meanwhile, the DECC attitude tracker suggests renewables are the most favoured energy source, with 79% of those surveyed supporting renewable energy production in the UK.
As with yesterday’s survey, scepticism on social media over the publication of each opinion poll remains high.
Alan Webster, using the Twitter handle @bareftdoctor, said:
