The Mapuche organization’s letter alleges that U.S.-listed companies are operating in Vaca Muerta with little oversight. Companies are venting methane gas “without state control” and have not been transparent about how much gas is burned in the field with flares, the letter alleges. The fumes, containing benzene and other toxic substances, can harm human health, the letter says.
Fracking in Vaca Muerta has induced more than 500 earthquakes and high volumes of waste, posing a threat to people and the environment, the letter alleges.
“Our culture is threatened, our territories are invaded and contaminated, our flora and fauna are poisoned, our air is affected by chemicals and our soil is shaking at the same time as uncontrolled exploitation,” the letter says.
The letter, signed by Nawel, says that half of the oil companies operating in Vaca Muerta are regulated by the SEC. The letter does not name individual firms.
The SEC did not respond to a request for comment.
Indigenous Mapuche people protest oil and gas extraction at the Loma Campagna drilling site in Vaca Muerta, Argentina on April 2, 2023. Credit: Katie Surma/Inside Climate News
In Vaca Muerta, the rights of Mapuche people are violated, Mapuche land defenders are criminalized and there is a double standard maintained by oil companies that adhere to better environmental practices in their home countries while polluting “mercilessly” when operating abroad, the letter alleges.
In recent decades, the Supreme Court has made it increasingly difficult for non-U.S. citizens to bring claims in U.S. courts for alleged violations of human rights. In March, the SEC adopted climate change risk disclosure rules, but those rules are suspended pending a series of legal challenges filed by companies.
The SEC has no binding rules in place for risk disclosures about human rights. The nonbinding United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights recommend that companies voluntarily issue formal reports disclosing these risks and explaining how they are being addressed. But companies rarely do so.
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Thank you,
Katie Surma
Reporter, Pittsburgh
Katie Surma is a reporter at Inside Climate News focusing on international environmental law and justice. Before joining ICN, she practiced law, specializing in commercial litigation. She also wrote for a number of publications and her stories have appeared in the Washington Post, USA Today, Chicago Tribune, Seattle Times and The Associated Press, among others. Katie has a master’s degree in investigative journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism, an LLM in international rule of law and security from ASU’s Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law, a J.D. from Duquesne University, and was a History of Art and Architecture major at the University of Pittsburgh. Katie lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with her husband, Jim Crowell.
Keerti Gopal
Reporter, Activism
Keerti Gopal is a New York City-based reporter covering activism and grassroots mobilization in the climate movement. She is a National Geographic Explorer and has completed fellowships with Fulbright, the Solutions Journalism Network, and The Lever.
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