Britain will impose an immediate moratorium on fracking, the government announced on Saturday, saying the industry risks causing too much disruption to local communities through earth tremors.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government had previously signaled its support for the shale gas industry as it seeks ways to cut Britain's reliance on imports of natural gas which is used to heat around 80 percent of Britain's homes.
But fracking, which involves extracting gas from rocks by breaking them up with water and chemicals at high pressure, is fiercely opposed by environmentalists who say it is at odds with Britain's commitment to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050.