A call from the Scottish Lib Dems to lift the national moratorium on fracking has been labelled disappointing by environment campaigners.
Party members called for an end to the Scottish Government’s moratorium yesterday in a conference amendment that would leave decisions on applications to use the oil and gas extraction technique with councils.
Fife is seen as a prime area for fracking, with firms poised to take advantage of any relaxation of the ban.
Members said their decision was about following the science and empowering local authorities.
But it has been slammed by campaigners, and was given a lukewarm reception by Scottish Liberal Democrats leader Willie Rennie.
Mr Rennie said: “I want to accelerate the move towards renewables and carbon free fuel.
“I think that is the right direction to go.
“But the party has decided, because we are very keen on science, that local authorities should be able to decide whether to go ahead or not.”
Lib Dem activist Ewan Hoyle told delegates the expert advice is that fracking could be done safely.
WWF Scotland director, Lang Banks, said the climate change science is “very clear” that fossil fuels should be left in the ground.
“It’s therefore massively disappointing to see what would have been a very strong Lib Dem position on tackling climate change undermined by the inclusion of support for fracking,” he said.
The Scottish Government announced the moratorium on granting planning consents for such developments in early 2015, to allow for a full public consultation on the controversial process.
Meanwhile, in his speech to the spring conference in Edinburgh, Mr Rennie described the SNP and Tories as “two peas in a pod” adding their continued dominance in both parliaments is an “utterly dismal prospect”.
In a press briefing after the speech, he called for a Better Together-style alliance between pro-EU party leaders in Scotland, although he accepted Nicola Sturgeon would not look on the idea favourably.
Mr Rennie said he is hopeful his party can increase its number of MSPs from five in May’s election.
The party in Scotland has sought to win voters with a plan to raise taxes by 1p, with the proceeds ploughed into education.