Commenting on today's announcement that councils that allow fracking will receive additional tax revenue, Caroline said: "It's bad enough that the Government is allowing fracking to go ahead at all. Encouraging it by offering bribes to councils - as well as handing tax-payer funded tax breaks to fracking companies - is beyond irresponsible.  It’s outrageous that councils are being put under financial pressure to accept this at a time when they’re being forced to make cuts to vital services.

"We need to keep the vast majority of existing fossil fuel reserves in the ground to have any hope of keeping global warming at safe levels.  The Government is not just ignoring local people who don't want fracking near their homes, but also jeopardising efforts to tackle climate change.

“As the Prime Minister has acknowledged, the  floods that have affected many parts of the country are a reminder of the extreme weather risks that will intensify if we don’t tackle climate change.  Instead of backing this new dash for gas, the Government should be investing seriously in renewables, and in a major programme to improve energy efficiency.”