SNP activists are to target fellow party members in an anti-fracking campaign aimed at convincing officials to bar the controversial process at the party’s biggest-ever conference.
A moratorium on onshore fracking and the extraction of coal-bed methane is currently in place across Scotland.
However, Scottish Government Energy Minister Fergus Ewing called for a “full debate” on the issue in April and has refused to commit to a full ban if a public consultation finds against the controversial practice.
Now activists are aiming to target party members in a bid to force the SNP administration’s hand on the issue.
The group, named SNP Members Against Unconventional Oil and Gas (SMAUG) will press delegates at next month’s conference to back an extension on the moratorium, with a view to moving to a ban on “all forms of exploiting unconventional fuels”.
At least 5,000 people are expected to attend the conference from October 15-17.
The event in Aberdeen will include a vote on extending the moratorium to include underground coal gasification.
In a statement, SMAUG, which includes members from Falkirk, Edinburgh and Annandale and is inviting others to join, said: “We are proud of the SNP’s history in leading the world by setting tough carbon reduction targets.
“We believe that exploiting these deposits is entirely at odds with the overwhelming scientific consensus on the need for significant carbon pollution reductions if we, as part of the global community, are to help halt dangerous climate change.
“At a community level, we also believe the evidence is clear that the techniques used cause significant local environmental and public health damage.
“Indeed, how could pumping into the earth under our communities, 100,000’s of litres of water laced with grade one carcinogens such as benzine or the endocrine disruptor boric acid, not damage our waterways, our land and our health?
SMAUG added: “We look forward to contributing to the debate within the party which will no doubt be held in typical SNP fashion – open, inclusive, perhaps forthright, but ultimately democratic and empowering.”
Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland, said: “I hope the establishment of this new campaign group along with the motion to be debated at its forthcoming party conference encourages the SNP to improve its policy on this issue. The failure by Scottish ministers to widen its existing fracking moratorium to include underground coal gasification leaves a gaping hole in our plans to tackle climate change.
“The science is clear – to protect our climate, the vast majority of fossil fuel reserves must remain unburned.
“In a worst case scenario, proposals like these could even prolong our use of fossil fuels, locking us into a high carbon world.”
Flick Monk, of Friends of the Earth Scotland, added: “Local communities do not want their health and environment damaged by energy companies aiming to extract gas at any cost.
“All eyes will now be on the party conference as SNP members will get the chance to debate how to go beyond the current moratorium and ban unconventional fossil fuels outright.
“The party conference provides a timely opportunity for the SNP leadership to listen to its grassroots members who are strongly opposed to energy policy that is risky, short-sighted and unsustainable.”
Speaking about the group’s name, Catherine Shea of SMAUG said: “It recalls Tolkein’s dragon living in the depths of the earth and being disturbed by the predatory dwarves going digging for the treasures of its domain.
“This SMAUG is awakening to save us from the confused priorities that lead us to damage the very resources that we need to live – our land, our air, our water – and to protect the wee inhabitants of Middle Earth from the long blight of falling house prices and stasis in or reversal of, plans for regeneration.
“Once UCG licences are granted, the companies often do nothing for years, but the impact on land values and community well-being is immediate and devastating.”
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