Benefits & Limitations of Fracking (Cambridge International IGCSE Environmental Management)

Benefits & limitations of fracking

Benefits of fracking

• Increases supply of natural gas and oil and reduces dependence on imported fossil fuels

  • This increases energy security

• Natural gas releases less carbon dioxide when burned than coal

• Natural is relatively easy to transport

• Allows access to previously unreachable resources trapped in shale rock

• Creates jobs in drilling, transport and associated industries

Limitations of fracking

• Uses very large amounts of water, which can strain local supplies
• Risk of groundwater contamination from chemicals used in the process
• Can cause small earthquakes due to rock fracturing and fluid injection
• Produces wastewater that must be treated or disposed of safely
• Increases production of fossil fuels, contributing to greenhouse gas emissions
• Results in emissions of gases such as methane

Exam Hint For the exam, you need to ensure that you know the advantages and disadvantages of fracking. However, in longer questions, you may also need to consider whether the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. You should be able to critically evaluate fracking. It can reduce energy shortages, but is it a desirable way to achieve that? What could countries do to reduce energy shortages instead?