Nottingham research has suggested public support for fracking is an all-time low, days after the deferral of a decision on test drilling in the county.
A study by the University of Nottingham shows backing for the energy technique is now at just over 37 per cent – or around four ten in people.
In 2013 academics found support for it stood at 58 per cent – or almost six in ten people.
The survey tracks the changes in awareness of fracking, the public’s beliefs about its environmental impacts and how acceptable it is as an energy source.
The results were published days after Nottinghamshire County Council’s decision over energy firm IGas’ application to test drill in Misson, Bassetlaw was postponed until November.
Several fracking applications are currently being considered across the UK.
And while the industry claims that shale gas is a clean energy source the university’s research suggests the public are not totally convinced.
The September section of the survey showed that there was a negative rating of -26.5 percent in regards to the public’s views on whether fracking was environmentally safe. This is a significant drop of seven per cent from 2012.
Professor Sara O’Hara from the School of Geography at the university, and co-director of the survey, said: “It is clear that people are not only concerned about possible impact on their immediate environment, something that dominated early debates around shale gas.
“But importantly they are beginning to think more broadly about the implications for greenhouse gas emissions and future climate change.”
Support started plummeting after the Balcombe protests in August 2013, where brightly-coloured protesters blocked the gates of the fracking site in Sussex.
Co-director of the survey, Professor Matthew Humphrey, said: “The downturn in public attitudes that we first saw after the Balcombe protests in 2013 has persisted for far longer than we might have expected.
“This may partly reflect lower energy prices making the apparent need for shale gas less urgent, and so less worth of the potential risks.
“The results show that the government will increasingly have its work cut out selling fracking to the UK public.”
Nottinghamshire County Council is expected to make its decision about the Bassetlaw test site , near Misson in November.
The University of Nottingham’s full report can be found here.
Supporters of fracking say it could bring jobs and investment and provide a new source of energy.
But opponents say it will necessarily damage the environment.
