Haringey Borough Council’s cabinet member for carbon reduction says the authority will oppose any plans to drill for fossil fuels in the borough.

Councillor Joe Goldberg made the decision in support of a deputation by Quentin Given at a meeting of full council on Monday evening.

Mr Given, a member of the environmental group Friends of the Earth, called on the council to support his campaign against drilling for shale gas, sometimes known as fracking.

He said: “If we’re going to prevent catastrophic climate change we have to get used to the idea of leaving fossil fuels where they are – in the ground.

“Fracking might seem unlikely in Haringey – but you only need a small site to drill from.

“Mayor Boris has called for London to leave no stone unturned to frack everywhere. Let’s make it impossible.

“If enough councils say no to fracking, investors will take their money away from fracking and invest in something more benign”.

According to the Government, potential fracking areas include most of the borough south of a line between Coldfall Wood and Markfield Park and so encompassing most of Muswell Hill, all of Hornsey and Harringay, and south Tottenham.

In response to the deputation, Cllr Goldberg said the council would oppose fracking and ask its planning officers to adopt appropriate measures in its planning policy.

He said: “Fracking will do nothing to reduce our carbon consumption.

“It’s being promoted by a government that abandoned a carbon reduction target in the last Energy Bill.

“We will commit to saying no to fracking, we will work up the policies needed, and we will use any means necessary to prevent fracking in Haringey."