The EU’s chief scientific advisor has said that evidence allows the go-ahead for extracting shale gas, the energy source at the centre of a European policy tug-of-war.

The EU executive launched a green paper on 27 March, setting out Europe’s energy and climate aims for 2030, with Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger taking a favourable position on shale gas.

“I am in favour of producing shale gas, particularly for safety reasons, and to reduce gas prices,” he said. “In the United States, which is a big producer of shale gas, the price of gas is four times less than in Europe.”