In Europe, shale energy resources have largely remained in the ground.

The shale energy revolution that started in the US is thus causing sweeping changes worldwide.

The big news in energy these days is the revolution in technology for tapping shale gas.

By 2035, shale gas is projected to account for roughly one half of total US energy production.

Many Parties provided information on alternative energy resources and mentioned that these include photovoltaic, solar thermal, wind, hydroelectric, geothermal, oil shale, and biomass energy.

Important energy technologies will include conversion of coal to liquids (such as gasoline), use of tar sands and oil shale, and growth in non fossil fuel energy sources.

And incorporating shale gas into the world s energy mix could help to combat climate change by creating a bridge to a low carbon future.

Indeed, thanks to the new techniques in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, shale gas may well become the dominant energy resource of the future.

The question today is whether a new upsurge of investment will come to our rescue. Optimists point to the shale energy revolution in the US.

In fact, estimates by the International Energy Agency suggest that the most significant recoverable reserves of shale gas are in the US and China, not Europe.

Shale Gas to the Rescue?

The Shale Revolution s Global Footprint

pelting them with stones of shale ,

pelting them with stones of shale ,

Exploration is proceeding only hesitantly and shale gas production has not even started, prompting many observers to lament that Europe is about to miss the next energy revolution.

Indeed, shale gas extraction is so economically favorable that even American gas exported to Europe would cost 30 less than what the Russian energy giant Gazprom currently charges.

Currently, there are plans to renovate some older units of the Narva Power Plants, establish new power stations, and provide higher efficiency in oil shale based energy production.

The Bowland Shale, which lies beneath Lancashire and Yorkshire, contains 50 more gas than the combined reserves of two of the largest fields in the United States, the Barnett Shale and the Marcellus Shale.

The advent of shale gas has confused the energy debate even more. If gas is substituted for coal, it can be a useful bridge to a low carbon future.

Despite the hype about the shale gas revolution, the extraction cost of (onshore) conventional gas remains below that of shale gas.

BRUSSELS The global energy community is abuzz with excitement about hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, a newish technology that has opened formerly inaccessible reserves of gas trapped in underground shale formations.

The US also is set to become energy independent, owing to the rise of shale oil and gas, with diminishing reliance on coal already bringing down per capita carbon emissions.

Beyond Fukushima, future energy supplies will most likely rely more and more on miniaturized nuclear plants and shale gas a mix capable of responding to a rapidly urbanizing world population s growing demand for electricity.

Even more significant, however, are the differences in energy costs, which are now up to 50 lower in the US a gap that is likely to widen further as America s shale gas revolution continues.

America s shale gas industry grew by 45 annually from 2005 to 2010, and the share of shale gas in America s overall gas production grew from 4 to 24 .

Of course, no one should think that America s shale gas revolution (which has brought it to the brink of energy self sufficiency) means that its Bahrain based Fifth Fleet will lift anchor any time soon.

Shale gas wells deplete far more rapidly than conventional fields do.

Nor are earlier trade balances about to reemerge. America s trade position will be strengthened by the shale gas revolution, which promises energy self sufficiency, and by increases in productivity that auger further re shoring of manufacturing production.

In 2013, it was announced that Japan would be importing shale natural gas.

Indeed, the International Energy Agency estimates that the additional precautions needed to ensure shale gas wells environmental safety including careful attention to seismic conditions, properly sealed shafts, and appropriate waste water management add only about 7 to the cost.

But the recent collapse in oil prices could change this dynamic. In refusing to cut its own production, Saudi Arabia seems to be hoping that low oil prices will drive down investment in US shale energy, undermining production growth there.

Shale gas contributed almost nothing to US natural gas supplies at the start of the century by last year, its share had soared to 34 , with the US Energy Information Administration predicting a further rise to one half by 2040.

Even the much heralded shale gas revolution is a lot of hype 160 similar to the gold rushes and stock bubbles of the past. Shale gas wells deplete far more rapidly than conventional fields do.

Even so, the shale revolution across the Atlantic has been felt in diverse ways.

In particular, the shockwaves triggered by the shale energy revolution unleashed in the United States are reverberating globally. With the advent of hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, US oil production has risen by 30 , and gas production by 25 , in just five years.

Even in the US, where cheap shale gas is reshaping the energy industry, more wind power was connected to the grid last year than gas, and, in the first three months of this year, more than 80 of new capacity was renewable.

PRAGUE In late June, the British Geological Survey announced the world s largest shale gas field.

Shale gas could thus reduce dependency on OPEC oil and gas while reducing carbon emission.

Shale gas is abundant in Europe and North America, in contrast to oil and gas.

and We made its topmost part its nethermost , and rained on them stones of shale .

and We made its topmost part its nethermost , and rained on them stones of shale .

However, the rise of fracking should be viewed with caution Poorly managed fracking facilities can leak methane, a potent greenhouse gas and shale oil, to which many frackers are turning, is much more emissions intensive than shale gas.

With respect to climate change, however, the effects of greater reliance on shale gas are mixed.

It s as if we reacted to Fukushima by better handling gas emissions in oil shale projects.

Jorma Ollila, Chairman of Royal Dutch Shell, described the global map of major shale oil and gas deposits.