Developing the Northern Territory's onshore shale oil and gas resources could release the equivalent of 34 billion tonnes of carbon emissions, equal to 60 times Australia's current annual carbon pollution, according to The Australia Institute.

The estimate is made in the institute's submission on the draft final report of a scientific inquiry into the risks of hydraulic fracturing – or fracking – in the territory scheduled for completion next month.

Gas leaks are inevitable - and likely huge - from the coal seam gas industry, a submission by The Australia Institute says. Credit:Glenn Hunt

The submission challenged the inquiry's use of a single 365 petajoule per year shale gas field producing the equivalent of 5 per cent of Australia's national emission to conclude the industry would have only a "low" consequence and to be of "acceptable" risk.

"Even a 5 per cent increase in Australia's emissions from a single gas field is a large and unacceptable increase," the submission said. "It is completely inconsistent with Australia's carbon budget and our commitments under the Paris agreement."