November 30th, 2022.

Lewes District Green Party release:



Co-operative Alliance Lewes District Councillors and one Conservative councillor voted for a new policy to oppose any plans for fracking or other fossil-fuel extraction in the District.

At a meeting of the full council on Monday the 21st of November, the Council also endorsed the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty, and committed to writing to UK government ministers and local MPs to ask them to maintain the ban on fracking.

Introducing the motion on behalf of Green Party councillors, Cllr Emily O’Brien said, “Fracking is dirty, it's damaging, and it's unpopular. And it's not been proven to be safe. Fracking won't help with soaring energy bills as it takes years to make happen. And the tiny contributions such activity would make to supplies would have almost no effect on the global markets in which these commodities are traded.

“Yet just last month, the ill-fated Truss-onomics experiment saw the fracking moratorium lifted, paving the way for fracking to restart in Sussex.

“But it's not just fracking; it’s any fossil fuel. We need to keep fossil fuels in the ground. The Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative is a campaign for a global treaty to end new fossil fuel exploration and to phase out existing production in line with the global commitment to limit warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.”

Speaking in support of the motion, Lib Dem councillor, Rob Banks added, “My own opposition to fracking is a combination of the head and the heart: my instinct tells me it's wrong; and the evidence backs this up.

“It then makes sense to ask the government to support the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. The science is clear - we need to work together to limit the impacts of climate change. It surely makes sense to invest in energy efficiency and renewables as opposed to new sources of fossil fuels. As the well-known saying goes, there is no planet B.”

Cllr Matthew Bird, Green, said, “There's never been a better time for this council to send a really strong message that we don't want a proliferation of fossil fuels. In October, the government opened up a new round of North Sea oil and gas licences. So I think we need to send a clear message.”

All but one Conservative councillor abstained on the vote, despite the view expressed by Cllr Emily O’Brien that not voting for this motion would represent a vote in favour of fracking. She reasoned, “There is no ban in place; there is a moratorium which can be overturned at any minute. We need to show that we don't accept that.”

Cuadrilla currently hold licences for fracking in the Chailey Common and Wivelsfield areas.