Fracking Uncertainty: Hydraulic Fracturing and the Provincial Politics of Risk(Studies in Comparative Political Economy and Public Policy)

Hydraulic fracturing – fracking – is an unconventional extraction technique used in the oil and gas industry that has fundamentally transformed global energy politics. In Fracking Uncertainty, Heather Millar explains variation in Canadian provincial policy approaches, which range from pro-development regulation to moratoria and outright bans. Millar argues that although regulatory designs are shaped by governments’ desires to seek out economic benefits or protect against environmental harms, policy makers’ perceptions of said benefits and/or harms are mediated through socially constructed narratives about uncertainty and risk. Fracking Uncertainty offers in-depth case studies of regulatory development in British Columbia, Alberta, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia. Drawing on media analysis and interviews with government officials, industry representatives, academics, and environmental advocates, Millar demonstrates how risk narratives foster distinctive forms of learning in each province, leading to different regulatory reforms.

Table of Contents:
List of Tables List of Figures List of Appendices 1. Fracking and the Politics of Risk Risk narratives Plan of the book 2. Fracking Uncertainty Uncertain technologies Uncertain economics Uncertain environmental science Responding to uncertainties: Subnational regulation 3. Analysing Uncertainty Defining risk narratives Risk narratives and hydraulic fracturing Who participates? Where? How does regulatory formulation occur? Putting it all together: Risk narratives, actors, venues, and learning Study design 4. Limiting Uncertainty in British Columbia BC regulatory timeline The political economy of British Columbia Risk narratives in British Columbia policy debates Technical learning and the path to single issue regulation Absence of salient catastrophic risks 5. Monitoring Uncertainty in Alberta AB regulatory timeline The political economy of Alberta Risk narratives in Alberta policy debates Technical and political learning: The path to comprehensive regulation 6. Managing Uncertainty in New Brunswick NB regulatory timeline The political economy of New Brunswick Risk narratives in New Brunswick hydraulic fracturing debates Complex risk and epistemic learning Uncertain risk and social learning 7. Contesting Uncertainty in Nova Scotia NS regulatory timeline The political economy of Nova Scotia Risk narratives in Nova Scotia hydraulic fracturing debates Uncertain risk and limited technical learning Catastrophic risk and political learning 8. Regulating Uncertainty Empirical implications Theoretical implications Practical implications for policy makers  Conclusion Appendices 1. List of Actor Types 2. Interview Schedules Notes References Index

About the Author :
Heather Millar is an associate professor of political science at the University of New Brunswick.