We analyze and disseminate high quality information about the severe impacts caused by the expansion of offshore hydrocarbon activity on the biodiversity of the Patagonian Sea, other human activities, and the global climate.
In recent years, hydrocarbon exploration for exploitation purposes has accelerated in the marine environments of some of the countries where the Forum works. For example, in Argentina, between 2017 and 2020 the Secretariat of Energy granted permits for seismic surveys in more than 1,000,000 km2 of marine area until 2028. As a result of these studies, 38 blocks were offered in concession, and 18 of them were awarded to 13 energy companies.
In Uruguay, 7 exploration blocks have been tendered under the open round modality, covering almost the entire Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). Four companies have won the bidding, forming consortiums among themselves or on their own. They have started the studies prior to seismic exploration in a context of skepticism and concern due to the impacts generated on fishing in past projects and the negative results of exploratory drilling.
Seismic prospecting is the most widely used method internationally to locate marine reservoirs. The intense acoustic pulses emitted underwater can travel long distances and cause serious damage to marine fauna, from impairment of vital functions to death.
The threat of large oil spills and the certainty of direct impacts due to chemical and acoustic contamination, intrinsic to the operation, put the stability of key ecosystems in the Patagonian Sea at stake.
As a result of this advance, the Forum has been addressing this issue for some years, producing information based on the best available science, participating in public hearings and making our position known to authorities at different levels and other key actors.
The burning of fossil fuels has another negative effect on the oceans, which is acidification. Combustion releases carbon dioxide, much of which dissolves in the oceans. The chemical changes this generates impact all marine species, especially mollusks, corals and others with calcium carbonate-based structures in their bodies, including several species of commercial interest.
Global warming and climate change are predominantly associated with the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and gas). Non-renewable fuels generate 75% of GHG emissions and 90% of carbon emissions.
Changes in ocean currents have been documented. The subtropical gyre of the South Atlantic Ocean and its western boundary current, the Brazil Current, have shifted at a rate of 0.11°/decade. Concomitant with these changes has been a southward shift of the confluence between the Brazil and Malvinas currents (between 0.6 and 0.8°/decade).
To keep global temperatures below the 1.5°C increase, global CO2 emissions must be reduced by approximately 45% by 2030 (compared to 2010 levels) and carbon neutrality must be achieved by 2050. The transition to cleaner and renewable energies is essential to avoid further aggravating the climate crisis. Despite international commitments made by most countries, including the Paris Agreement, the race to exploit hydrocarbons continues, even at great distances from the coast and at immense ocean depths.
