Geo-logics and Geo-politics: The Collective Governance of European Shale Gas Development

This project explores recent shifts in the knowledge and politics of resource development that have been implied by the prospective exploitation of shale gas resources in Europe. The possibility of implementing a US-developed industry in a substantially different geo-economic context represents currently one of the most heated scientific and political controversies in the EU, as debates over the feasibility and desirability of shale gas development have become highly polarised between and within member states. The difficulties of establishing a more balanced dialogue and decision-making are compounded by the lack of reliable scientific knowledge of potential resources, understanding of environmental impacts and a coordinated transnational policy. In the situation of prevailing scientific uncertainty and growing public opposition, it has become acutely clear that the industry's prospects cannot solely be decided by geoscientific expertise or industry-government negotiations. This has resulted in a particular crisis of governance, where it is no longer clear whose knowledge counts and who gets to decide over the industry's future, especially since the EU has currently no mandate to regulate the industry in its member states.

This project analyses the changing forms and networks of expert knowledge and political authority that inform shale gas controversies, focusing particularly on conflicting assessments of recoverable resources and technological readiness. It examines whether these changes can be explained by diverse and conflicting social definitions of the geological resource, or what is conceptualised here as contending 'geo-logics', drawing upon relational accounts of natural resources in geography and cognate disciplines. Further, the project explores the potential of geoscientific controversies to give rise to non-elite forms of knowledge production and political agency, or what recent social science literature has called 'geo-politics'. Drawing on a series of in-depth interviews, ethnographic research and social network analysis, the project maps out the epistemic communities, modes of governance and resource definitions arising from shale gas controversies, with an empirical focus on EU-level policymaking and the two leading developer countries, the UK and Poland. In addition, the project puts the research findings into action by exploring what opportunities exist for experimenting with alternative forums of collective resource governance. This is achieved through a series of knowledge exchange and networking activities that bring leading social scientists specialising in unconventional energy resources together with key experts from EU and national authorities, industry, and civil society organisations.

By documenting and conceptualising the 'geo-logics' and 'geo-politics' arising from European shale gas development, the project will establish a new research agenda for socio-political studies of natural resources at the intersection of resource geography and anthropology, critical geopolitics, and Science and Technology Studies. This research highlights the significance of contending resource definitions for understanding not only the challenges of unconventional energy development, but the dynamics of contemporary resource controversies and governance more generally.

There are a wide range of beneficiaries of this research, including direct beneficiaries (stakeholders) and indirect potential beneficiaries. The project's stakeholders include organisations and individuals who will participate in interviews and knowledge exchange activities:

(1) EU policymakers: This research will raise their awareness about the need to move beyond technocratic approaches to policymaking and improve existing dynamics of expert knowledge production, particularly given that the European Commission is in the process of developing an EU-wide policy framework and public consultation guidelines on shale gas development. In particular, the planned stakeholder workshop and participatory research will create synergies between social science research and policy initiatives, and thereby raise the capacity of policymakers to utilise social science methods in the design of more inclusive forums of knowledge production and public engagement. The project therefore helps to improve the effectiveness, transparency and public acceptability of forthcoming EU regulations and policy recommendations on shale gas.

(2) Government officials in the UK and Poland: The project further facilitates more effective and transparent policymaking and regulation in the UK and Poland through interviews, dissemination of policy briefs and participation in relevant events. The aim here is to ensure harmony with EU-level policy initiatives, while simultaneously addressing the state-specific challenges arising from national law and socio-political issues, particularly the need to compromise between energy security and environmental policy objectives.

(3) NGO coalitions: The project includes another stakeholder workshop, interviews and communication with NGO coalitions headquartered in Brussels, as well as interviews with leading 'anti-fracking' movements in the UK and Poland. Through a joint review of existing public engagement practices, the project will improve the visibility and receptibility of civil society voices in the public debate. However, the project simultaneously aims to raise awareness about the need to move beyond mere confrontation and instead find solutions for open dialogue and more participatory forums of knowledge- and policymaking.

(4) Industry: Through interviews and the third stakeholder workshop, the project raises the awareness of shale gas companies to account for the governance challenges arising from their activities, particularly about the need to find more inclusive ways of engaging with civil society that exceed the procedures of public consultation. In this way, the project is expected to have positive effects on corporate citizenship, social responsibility and accountability.

Indirect potential beneficiaries will benefit from the project's outcomes, including policy briefs and articles, as well as from any future initiatives that follow from collaborative research with other social science researchers:

(1) Policymakers in other EU member states that currently consider or have already undertaken shale gas exploration.
(2) Local governments in the UK and Poland.
(3) Local governments and non-government organisation involved in the regulation and policy design in other EU member states.
(4) Citizens and grassroots movements who are concerned about shale gas development in their neighbourhoods.

With emphasis on collective resource governance and constructive dialogue, the project findings serve to alleviate the antagonistic relationship between industry protagonists and opponents in the longer term. This will contribute to more effective transnational regulation and reduction of the economic costs associated with failed exploration programmes, including in the UK. In this way, the project addresses the ESRC priorities of 'Economic Performance and Sustainable Growth' and 'Vibrant and Fair Society', while contributing to the RCUK cross-council theme 'Energy'.