environmental justice climate change
and environmental racism in the niger
delta
peter roderick, climate justice
programme
|
© elaine
gilligan, foe ewni
Woman
tending her plot at Shell gas flare
site, Rumuekpe.
|
If you've ever wondered what
Dante's inferno might feel like, take
a trip to Shell
Nigeria
's gas flare at Rumuekpe in
the
Niger
Delta. Or
perhaps to the two Shell flares at
the Umuebulu community along the
Aba Road
just
outside
Port Harcourt
. Or to the scores more operated
by Shell, ExxonMobil, ChevronTexaco,
Agip and TotalFinaElf in
Africa
's most populated
country. You'll never be the
same.
|
“The main beneficiaries of the oil
sector are foreign oil companies and the
Nigerian government. As yet, there has been
very little direct impact of oil and gas
production on the lives of
Nigeria
's poor.”
These monstrosities, which rage 24 hours
per day and seven days per week, would
never be accepted in a white community, and
are as good an example of environmental
racism as you'll find anywhere. Even the
World Bank has described them as “the most
striking example of environmental neglect”
in the country. There are at least three
powerful reasons why they must stop.
no reason to flare
First, they are an appalling waste. In
the rest of the world, almost all gas
separated off from the crude oil with which
it is mixed is used by domestic or
industrial customers, or reinjected – in
western Europe the figure is 99
percent.
Second, they harm the people who live
near them, as well as their environment.
Imagine the psychological effect of living
with such noise and intense heat every day
and night. Little grows close to gas
flares, and they typically contain several
toxic substances, such as benzene, a proven
carcinogen. Villagers complain of acid rain
corroding their roofs. Small wonder that
the main Shell residential camp with its
barbed wire perimeter fences is located
down the Aba Road far from its Umuebulu
flares beside which the local poor
live.
Third, they are a significant
contributor to climate change. Flaring
natural gas causes emissions of both carbon
dioxide and methane, two of the most
important greenhouse gases. Precise
estimates of the amounts of gas flared are
notoriously difficult to come by, and there
is no worldwide database. One World Bank
estimate suggests that typically 4.8
trillion cubic feet of gas is flared or
vented annually, of which Nigeria
contributed 965 billion cubic feet in the
late 1990s - about 20%, by far the single
biggest national emitter. The Bank reckons
that the country's flaring has contributed
more greenhouse gas emissions than all
other sources in sub-Saharan Africa
combined.
Add to these arguments the facts that
the first Nigerian legislation relating to
use of this gas dates back to 1969, that
general flaring has been illegal since
1984, and that Nigerian citizens have
legally enforceable rights to life, dignity
and to live in a satisfactory environment,
and the obvious question is: why does the
flaring continue?
The oil companies have persuaded the
current, quasi-military Obasanjo regime to
allow them to continue flaring until at
least 2008. They argue that they cannot
afford to stop flaring, but this is simply
not credible. The combined annual profits
of the relevant companies are tens of
billions of dollars, and most of Nigeria 's
oil reserves lie in “relatively simple
geological structures” according to the US
government.
But the story is not one of total
darkness. Rumuekpe villagers successfully
“fought and fought” Shell, says Mr
Chukwunenye Esevi, to install a borehole
for fresh water. Even though absolute
flaring amounts have increased, the
percentage of Nigerian flaring is reported
to have reduced recently. There is some
proof that putting pressure on the
companies works. Friends of the Earth
Nigeria and the Climate Justice Programme
are working together to increase these
efforts locally, nationally and
internationally. Then, the people of the
Niger Delta might be treated in the same
way as people in other parts of the world
and, in the process, needless greenhouse
gas emissions will be stopped.
more information
:
read
the full story
Friends of the Earth Nigeria:
www.eraction.org
Climate Justice Programme:
www.climatelaw.org
