The UK Government needs to rethink the risks of fracking to allow people "to heat their homes at an affordable level", says Jacob Rees-Mogg.
The Telegraph states that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has signalled that he wanted to revisit the 2019 moratorium on new fracking sites in the face of spiralling energy costs worsened by Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, is a controversial technique designed to recover gas and oil from shale rock.
Pressure from Conservative MPs for the Government to ease restrictions to allow fracking firms to access the huge Bowland-Hodder shale gas basin under the Midlands and the north is growing.
"Definition of what is safe"
The industry claims that, if just 10% of the estimated in-place resources were recovered, the UK would be self-sufficient in natural gas for 50 years.
The 2019 Conservative manifesto included a pledge to allow safe fracking, and Mr Rees-Mogg - Minister for Brexit Opportunities and Government Efficiency - said he wanted to start a debate on "the definition of what is safe".
Earlier this week, the chief executive of Britain's oil and gas regulator revealed that fracking could return to the UK if firms find a way to reduce the earthquakes it causes.
At the end of 2019, the Scottish Government set out a finalised policy of no support for unconventional oil and gas development, which includes fracking.