Environmentalists welcome news, as Scottish Government says more research is needed to assess the potential impacts

The Scottish Government has put a moratorium on underground coal gasification (UCG).

The temporary halt has been welcomed by environmental organisations and charities who say the process is “risky” and “experimental”.

Announcing the move, energy minister Fergus Ewing said it will allow for the necessary time for full and careful consideration of the potential impacts of the new technology.

While this rightly puts a hold on underground coal gasification for now, we hope the final decision will be to rule it out completely

Professor Campbell Gemmell, former chief executive of the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA), will lead an independent examination of the issues and evidence surrounding UCG.

This will include working closely with communities and stakeholders to understand the issues of most concern to them.

Commenting on the news WWF Scotland director Lang Banks said the Scottish Government was to be congratulated.

“There is overwhelming public opinion in favour of cleaner forms of energy and a sufficient body of evidence why unconventional oil and gas are neither good for people or the planet,” he said.

“While this rightly puts a hold on underground coal gasification for now, we hope the final decision will be to rule it out completely.

"The science is clear, to protect our climate the vast majority of fossil fuel reserves must remain unburned."

Mary Church, head of campaigns at Friends of the Earth Scotland, added: “Underground coal gasification is a risky and experimental technique, with a very chequered history around the world.

“This industry clearly deserves the same public scrutiny as shale gas fracking and coal bed methane.”

Organisers of a protest against plans to explore UCG in the Firth of Forth, due to take place on Sunday at the Forth Road Bridge, welcomed the news but said its demonstration will still go ahead.

A spokesperson for Our Forth said: “We are pleased to see that the Scottish Government is listening to community concerns and we will continue our campaign to encourage the public to research the mounting evidence from across the world that shows fracking for shale gas, extracting coal-bed methane and the underground coal gasification process poses unacceptable risks for human health and the environment.

“These moratoria present communities with an opportunity to inform each other and drown out the PR machines of these damaging industries.”