'Fracking', Framing and Effective Participation

水力压裂(水力压裂)是一种允许开采非常规化石燃料资源(石油和天然气)的技术。在过去的十年里，这项技术在北美得到了广泛的应用，但在英国还处于开发的早期阶段。英国政府的政策正在积极鼓励这项技术的部署，并在英国的几个地点进行了测试钻探。关于这项技术的使用，政策和公众一直存在重大争议：一些行为者同时认为它是一种新的、有风险的技术，有可能对公众健康和环境产生不利影响，但另一些行为者则认为它更为平凡和易于管理。此外，一些人认为页岩气能够帮助英国实现减排目标，但另一些人则认为页岩气阻碍了这一任务。最后，页岩气开发的治理也是冲突的一个来源，对于公众和当地社区应该在政策和决策中拥有多大发言权的方式和程度，人们有不同的看法。不同群体和利益相关者之间页岩开发的这种有争议的性质，代表着英国发展面临的一个关键的社会政治挑战。我们分析这一挑战是因为不同类型的参与者对水力压裂问题(框架)有不同的理解和看法。我们的目标是通过调查三个不同但相关的研究领域之间的关系，提高对英国页岩开发面临的社会政治挑战的理解：公众对这一问题的看法，围绕页岩气和水力压裂的政策辩论(框架)，以及公众参与和参与该问题的正式程序。一项具有全国代表性的公众意见调查，以及对当地社区案例研究(兰开夏郡Fylde)的深入采访，将更好地了解公众对页岩水力压裂的看法及其治理的参与者和过程，以及公众对英国页岩开发的接受程度。将对政策辩论进行分析，以更好地理解倡导者提出的论点(框架)、他们的争论，以及这些辩论如何塑造并继续塑造英国政策。最后，将审查公众参与和参与的正式程序，以评估它们在多大程度上有助于解决或放大公众对英国页岩开发的接受挑战。我们对这三个研究领域之间的关系特别感兴趣。例如，我们问，政策辩论在多大程度上反映了公众的意见？公众能影响决策吗？政策制定者、行业参与者、监管机构、环保组织和公众将对研究结果感兴趣，他们不仅对水力压裂和页岩气开发问题感兴趣，还对气候变化、民主和更广泛的技术社会争议问题感兴趣。这项研究的主要好处将是更好地了解英国页岩气开发面临的社会和政治挑战的规模和性质，以及更好地了解公众参与和参与帮助应对这些挑战的潜力。

Hydraulic fracturing ('fracking') is a technology that allows the extraction of unconventional fossil fuel resources (oil and gas). The technology has been widely used in North America over the last decade but is in a much earlier stage of development in the UK. Government policy in the UK is actively encouraging the deployment of this technology and test drilling has taken place at several sites in the UK. There has been significant policy and public controversy around the use of the technology: it is simultaneously viewed by some actors as a novel and risky technology with the potential to adversely affect public health and the environment, but by others as rather more mundane and manageable. Shale gas, furthermore, is viewed by some as able to help the UK meet emissions reduction objectives but by others as hindering this task. Finally, the governance of shale gas development is also a source of conflict, with varying ideas about the ways and extent to which publics and local communities should have a say in policy and decision-making. This contested nature of shale development amongst different groups and stakeholders represents a key socio-political challenge for development in the UK. We analyse this challenge as arising from distinct ways of understanding and viewing the fracking issues ('framing') amongst different kinds of actors. We aim to improve understanding of this socio-political challenge facing shale development in the UK through an investigation of the relationships between three distinct but related research areas: public perceptions of the issue, policy debates ('frames') around shale gas and fracking, and formal processes of public engagement and participation on the matter. A nationally representative survey of public perceptions, as well as in-depth interviewing in a local community case study (the Fylde, Lancashire), will provide a better understanding of public perceptions on fracking for shale and the actors and processes of its governance, and the public acceptability of shale development in the UK. Policy debates will be analysed to better understand the arguments ('frames') put forward by advocates, their contestation, and how these debates have shaped and continue to shape UK policy. Finally, formal processes of public engagement and participation will be examined in order to assess the extent to which they help to resolve or amplify the public acceptance challenge for shale development in the UK. We are particularly interested in the relationships between these three research areas. For example, we ask, how well do policy debates reflect public views? And can the public influence decision making? Research findings will be of interest to policy makers, industry actors, regulators, environmental groups, and members of the public with an interest in the issue of fracking and shale gas development specifically, but also the issues of climate change, democracy and social controversies over technology more broadly. The primary benefit of the research will be to provide both a better understanding of the scale and nature of the social and political challenges facing shale gas development in UK, and a better understanding of the potential of public participation and engagement to help address these challenges.