Regulating Unconventional Oil and Gas Production: Towards an International Sustainability Framework

Many of the emerging literatures on unconventional oil and gas production have taken the form of arguing for and against its positive and negative impacts. Studies have taken the form of exploring how it could result in increased energy production, energy security, financial returns and profits to local entities, increased investments in priority sectors, and generation of local employment opprtunities. On the other side, there have been explorations of the costs of fracking to the environment, human health, long term sustainability and contamination of drill sites. Less attention have been paid to exploring the possibilities of an international framework through which we could achieve a win-win scenario, i.e maximizing the economic potentials of unconventional oil and gas by reducing the environmental side effects. This paper discusses an international framework built on the theory of sustainable development, through which the environmental concerns associated with unconventional oil and gas production can be addressed