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Unconventional gas development - particularly the exploration and exploitation of shale gas - has become a highly contentious issue in almost every country where it has been proposed. Yet the responses of governments in those countries have varied considerably: some have imposed bans on all activities associated with development, others have enthusiastically embraced the option and have offered incentives to encourage development, while many are engaged in debates on whether and how to permit development. These positions have been shaped by a variety of actors ranging from Environmental NGOs and community groups (generally opposed) to energy companies and business lobbies (generally supportive), with each invoking or challenging the contribution of shale gas to energy security, economic development, environmental and health risks and sustainability.

Based on extensive fieldwork in Europe and North America, this book offers a comprehensive and systematic comparative analysis of the politics of shale gas development and regulation in these two regions. In the first part of the book a series of chapters contextualise the politics of shale gas by looking at how the option fits into three broader academic and policy debates: the politics of energy security; the politics of environmental regulation and the politics of sustainability. The second part of the book examines how these issues have played out in national policy debates in a range of European and North American countries. In each case the aim will be to understand how these issues have been used by supporters and opponents of shale gas and to examine the factors which have shaped policy makers' decisions on whether and how to develop shale gas.

This book will be of great interest to students and scholars of energy and environmental politics and policy.