Vaca Muerta Megaproject: A fracking carbon bomb in Patagonia

Argentina’s shale gas and shale oil resources are estimated in second and fourth place globally. Almost all of this potential is concentrated in the Neuquén basin in Northern Patagonia. It represents around 50 billion tons of CO2 that are currently locked in the ground, almost 1.5 times the annual global CO2 emissions from the energy sector. Enormous fracking projects are planned to exploit those vast fossil resources. This paper deals with the great risks to global climate  and the impacts on the environment, health and society in the affected communities.