(Photo credit: Bosc d'Anjou)
What does it want? How does it operate? And what’s next?
This is a guest column by Jonathan Wood, senior global issues analyst at ControlRisks. What follows is a summary of his lengthy investigation of the anti-fracking movement, available here.
Unconventional natural gas is often described as game-changing and transformative, a revolution heralding a golden age of cheap, plentiful energy for a resource-constrained world.
But only if it makes it out of the ground.
As shown by local bans in the US and Canada, national moratoriums in France and Bulgaria, and tighter regulation in Australia and the UK, the global anti-fracking movement has mounted an effective campaign against the extraction of unconventional gas through hydraulic fracturing.
Meanwhile, the oil and gas industry has largely failed to appreciate social and political risks, and has repeatedly been caught off guard by the sophistication, speed and influence of anti-fracking activists.
What the anti-fracking movement wants
The anti-fracking movement wants four main things: First, it wants to extract a better deal in terms of economic opportunity, taxation, and compensation. Moves by some local governments to extract ‘impact fees’ fall into this camp.
Second, anti-fracking activists want further study of the environmental, economic and health and safety impacts of intensive unconventional gas development, partly to inform regulatory and tax policies but also as a stalling tactic to impede the industry’s expansion.
Third, some strongly opposed to the industry – whether on water quality or climate protection grounds – want moratoriums and outright bans on drilling activity.
Finally, and most commonly, the anti-fracking movement wants tighter regulation of unconventional gas development. From Pennsylvania to Poland, oil and gas regulation is being updated to address issues raised by hydraulic fracturing and increase environmental controls.
How the anti-fracking movement operates
The movement’s grassroots foundation is reflected in the hundreds of community-based anti-fracking groups that have emerged worldwide. Environmental groups have played a key role in subsequently organising and professionalising grassroots activists, especially in North America and Western Europe.
The anti-fracking movement is particularly adept at organising online through social media. The extensive use of free or low-cost online platforms such as WordPress and Facebook has both facilitated grassroots participation and increased organisational efficiency.
Online communications also enable a further pillar of the anti-fracking movement: global networking. This occurs through peer-to-peer activist networks, international environmental NGO campaigns, and shared ideological and political frameworks.
Some activists and groups also believe direct action against the industry is necessary. Direct action is intended to draw media attention to the anti-fracking movement, motivate the anti-fracking opposition, and physically disrupt operations. Project site blockades, in particular, have emerged as a favoured low-cost, high-impact tactic.
What’s next for the anti-fracking movement
2012 is likely to set the high-water mark for the anti-fracking movement. Regulatory reviews concluded in key battlegrounds, technological innovations are reducing environmental impacts, and the anti-fracking movement itself is grappling with the consequences of its successes. How will the movement
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