Part of a series of debates held across the UK, Let's Talk About Fracking aims to engage people in a serious debate about fracking. With fracking industry representatives invited to be part of the panel but declining to take part, this video of the London debate takes the form of a panel discussion, hosted by Channel 4 News presenter Jon Snow, with questions and comments from the audience.
Scientist, Nick Riley MBE, a geologist who believes fracking is a necessary and useful transition technology, was given time to speak from the floor, as was Cuadrilla's PR representative, Mark Linder. As these were the only two pro-frackers willing to attend it seemed unfair to pit them against a panel of five anti-frackers, and so they were given extra time to speak from the floor.
The panel comprised UK activist Tina-Louise Rothery, US campaigner Elizabeth Arnold, Ecological Futurologist Paul Mobbs, Diplomat John Ashton CBE, who was for many years the Special Representative for Climate Change at the FCO, Millie Darling from the Youth Climate Coalition, and Michael Stein, founder of the Triliion Fund, a major renewables peer-to-peer investment platform.
There were also speeches from businessman Joseph Corre, and his mother Vivienne Westwood, who provided much of the funding for the debate tour through the Humanade charity.