​Company says ban is illegal

Ineos is to challenge the Scottish Government’s ban on at the Court of Session today.

The petrochemical giant claims the ban is unlawful.

Although ministers did not impose legislation to halt fracking in Scotland, it has an “effective ban” meaning all local authorities are instructed not to give planning consent for any fracking-related activities.

Ineos claims this move is unlawful as fracking licences were originally granted by the Westminster government.

The company, which owns two fracking licences in Scotland, said the ban on unconventional oil and gas extraction would result in Scotland missing out on economic benefits, including about 3,100 Scottish jobs and £1bn for local communities.

However, campaign group Friends of the Earth Scotland (FoES) has submitted a public interest intervention in the judicial review, arguing that not only is the ban on fracking lawful, but that the Scottish Government is required to ban fracking in order to meet Scotland's legally binding climate change commitments.

Mary Church, Foes head of campaigns, said: "We are getting involved in the judicial review in order to put forward crucial climate change arguments in support of the ban that otherwise would not have been heard.

“Our intervention argues that the Scottish Government is required to ban fracking so as to urgently cut greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuels, in line with legally binding climate targets.

"We are confident that the process to ban fracking was robust and fair, and we hope that the courts will find against Ineos.

A Scottish Government spokeswoman said: "Out of respect for the integrity of the judicial review process, it would be inappropriate to comment on the case put forward by any of the other parties during an ongoing litigation."