Church of England groups tentatively back fracking

The stance is outraging Christian environmentalists, but the church says there are caveats to its support

The fracking industry has praised the Church of England (CoE) after two groups at the church tentatively backed the controversial technology as a way to help the UK cut carbon emissions.

Shale gas was a "potentially useful element" in switching to a low-carbon economy as it was cleaner than coal, so long as it did not harm renewable energy's expansion, a church briefing paper said.