Sad day for the UK

Lord Browne, former chief of BP and now chairman of Cuadrilla. Photograph: Dan Chung for The Guardian

Cuadrilla, whose chairman is Lord Browne, the former chief of BP, is estimating that it will take five years and the drilling of 20 to 40 fracking wells to judge whether the UK has a viable shale gas industry.

Browne described exploiting shale gas as a national imperative, according to the article by Fiona Harvey, from The Guardian.

Still energy campaigners are saying renewable energy is a way better solution, especially since shale gas isn't even a guaranteed or viable option yet for Britain, it will take years to find out.

 Browne says it is vital for the UK's future to pursue fracking and also said that there was no conflict between investment in renewable energy and in shale gas.

Jason Anderson, head of EU climate and energy policy at WWF, recognizes that the first priority should be energy efficiency.