Structuring the shale gas controversy: Debate

The social choice issue and policy dilemma related to shale gas call for a social debate on the opportunities and drawbacks of exploiting this resource with the existing techniques, i.e. tapping into a newly identified source of energy that is widely dispersed and potentially profitable, both for private companies and local stakeholders, against facing different categories of risks and potential damages related to the use of the new and powerful technique necessary for the exploration and exploitation of unconventional gas.

 

To prepare this social debate, we have identified, following sustainability guidelines formalized by C3ED/REEDS, three necessary categories of analysis through a review of documents related to the controversy: the main issues at stake, the stakeholder groups involved, as well as the policy or scenario options expressing the terms of this controversy.