Press Release: Manchester University students vote against fracking

The motion “this house supports fracking” was defeated at the Debating Society of Manchester University last night.

The meeting heard speeches from Martin Porter from Frack Free Greater Manchester on the impact of fracking on climate change and from Bob Dennett from Frack Free Fylde on the local environmental risks.

Nick Grealy, an oil and gas industry consultant, argued that fracked gas was a useful bridge fuel until we developed renewable energy, but the students appeared to agree with Martin Porter that something that isn’t going to be available for another decade can’t be used as a bridge to something that already exists.

Martin Porter said “It was a good debate and most of the audience appears to have arrived with an open mind. It was refreshing that not one person denied the urgent need to deal with the threat of climate change and that the students accepted that we cannot afford to ride out two decades of fracking boom and bust first.”

Martin Porter’s speech