Transition Policies as a Local Problem: The Cases of Neuquén and Río Negro (Argentine Patagonia)

Abstract

The main aim of this chapter is to contribute to the debate about the link between energy and production transitions, considering their impacts at the local level. To do so, we analyze the cases of the provinces of Neuquén and Río Negro, located in the north of Argentine Patagonia. During the last years, the development strategies of both provinces have tended to converge with a “corporate” conception of energy transition, based on the large-scale extraction of unconventional hydrocarbons. Neuquén is leading the way regarding such developments both in Argentina and, in general, outside of North America. This activity undoubtedly provides a boost to the provincial economy, but also adds to its continuing historical configuration as an oil enclave. In neighboring Río Negro, there is less extraction activity of the nonconventional kind, and what there is occurs within a more diversified production matrix. However, here, it is also presented as an alternative with the capacity to produce a surplus, given the drawn-out crisis in the fruit and vegetable sector. Against this background, the question is to what extent the contradictions and limits inherent to these development strategies are entwined with the problems posed by the energy transition. In this sense, this article shows a worsening of pre-existing socio-environmental trends and impacts, as well as the emergence of new ones, which dissolve the conditions for the possibility of alternative energy and production transitions.