Legal challenges of imposing a governmental duty of care for adaptive responses to climate change in the Global South: a case study of Nigeria

Our research study focuses on exploring the challenges of adopting Governmental Duty of Care as a legal framework for adaptive responses to Climate Change with special focus on the Global South using Nigeria as a case study. Although a global issue, minimising the impact of Climate Change requires domestic or national adaptive measures which requires a different approach from mitigation, hence a National Project Development and Implementation Framework in conjunction with International Environmental Agreements is desired. In comparison to the Global North, it seems that the Global South is lacking the political will to carry out their international environmental obligations. As citizens are no longer content with government inertia, holding these government accountable through the imposition a duty of care through litigation or as a consequence of ratifying international environmental agreements is a legal framework this research proposes. However, this approach is fraught with legal complexities, some of which this paper will highlight

An examination of environmental sustainability issues and conflict in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria

This paper examines environmental sustainability issues and conflict in the Niger Delta Region (NDR) of Nigeria. Nigeria belongs to the Organisation of the Petroleum Countries (OPEC), it is the sixth-largest exporter of oil. The country which derives more than 90% foreign exchange from petroleum products also undergoes (host communities) more than 90% socioeconomic and environmental degradation. The Niger Delta communities continue to suffer from high incidences of oil spills and gas flaring which have grave negative impacts on the environment. The indigenes have taken to protests, agitations, demonstrations and violence to express their dissatisfaction with the deplorable environmental condition. Despite this, the International Oil Companies (IOCs) continue to operate with greater impunity. Oil spillages regularly occur in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria; as of 2018, there had been up to 9500 incidences of oil spill in a decade. Annually, on average about 115, 000 barrels (equivalent to about $5 million worth) are spilt into the environment. Sustainability has been an overarching theme over the past decades and industries including oil and gas have the responsibility to incorporate sustainable practices in their operations