Holywood heartthrob and environmental activist Mark Ruffalo took to Twitter on Friday night to issue a warning to Northern Ireland people over fracking.
In the short message ahead of Saturday’s climate rally, he said: “Friends & climate activists in Northern Ireland - your gov’t is on the verge of approving petroleum licensing policy that will open the door to fracking & drilling.
“Your leaders are failing you,” he added, tagging the DUP, Sinn Fein, the SDLP, Green Party NI, UUP, Alliance and People Before Profit.
“US health professionals Dr Kathy Keeper & groups gave expert testimony to gov’t sponsored oil & gas industry consultant HATCH for report.
“Yet NI gov’t - @Economy_NI & @GeoSurveyNI - refuse to release it to NI community groups like @LAMP_FERMANAGH & health professionals.
“Take action to stop this before it’s too late! Once licensing starts - drilling & fracking in NI will be unstoppable.”
Former Department for Economy Minister Diane Dodds commissioned a report understood to have cost tens of thousands on fracking despite the Northern Ireland Assembly agreeing to a moratorium on onshore petroleum licensing and drilling in October 2020.
The report is yet to be released.
SDLP Minister Nichola Mallon has since ordered a review of planning policy including fracking to ‘protect the environment’.
The Department for Economy is also considering whether to approve petroleum licence applications.
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