Argentina Seismic testing cases

Three separate lawsuits were filed in early 2022 against the Argentinian Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development to stop offshore seismic testing by Equinor. These cases focus on the protection of the Southern Right Whale, the incompatibility of fossil fuel exploration with Argentina's Paris Agreement commitments and Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and violations of the Escazú Agreement regarding public participation and environmental information. The court combined these three lawsuits on January 14, 2022.

• Three emergency lawsuits were initiated to stop offshore seismic testing and fossil fuel exploration by the Norwegian company Equinor, which had been approved via Resolution 436/2021 on December 30, 2021. The first case, initially seeking habeas corpus for the Southern Right Whale, was converted into a constitutional collective action that includes claims regarding the project's climate impacts, Argentina's Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), and the Paris Agreement.
• A second constitutional collective action brought by NGOs argues that the exploration project is incompatible with Argentina's national and international climate commitments and that the state is responsible for emissions from future fossil fuel exports. This claim asserts that the Environmental Impact Assessment was flawed because it failed to consider climate impacts.
• A third constitutional collective action, filed by the Mayor of the City of Mar del Plata on January 13, 2022, alleges violations of the Escazú Agreement regarding rights to public participation and access to environmental information. It further argues that Argentina's NDC is insufficiently ambitious and lacks a required National Adaptation and Mitigation Plan.

APA

Natural Justice (2022). Argentina Seismic testing cases. https://naturaljustice.org/publication/environmental-court-cases-argentina-seismic-testing-cases/

Chicago

Natural Justice. Argentina Seismic testing cases. 2022. https://naturaljustice.org/publication/environmental-court-cases-argentina-seismic-testing-cases/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Natural Justice |title=Argentina Seismic testing cases |date=1 March 2022 |url=https://naturaljustice.org/publication/environmental-court-cases-argentina-seismic-testing-cases/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{naturaljustice2022argentina, author = {{Natural Justice}}, title = {{Argentina Seismic testing cases}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/publication/environmental-court-cases-argentina-seismic-testing-cases/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }