Shell in Nigeria: Polluted communities ‘can sue in English courts’. (2021, February 12). Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-56041189 

 

This article is about the recent ruling by the UK Supreme Court, which overturned a court of appeals ruling that says that people within a community in Nigeria can now sue Shell because of the oil pollution that they have caused in the area.  Shell, as a corporation, is responsible for 50% of the oil pollution in the waterways, which affects many families and fishermen who rely on this waterway for food and their livelihoods. This landmark ruling is significant, ShellAs because it shows that the UK is now taking the fight for Environmental Justice a little more seriously when it comes down to issues with corporations. Nigerians’ money made from this lawsuit could be enough to clean the pollution within their waterways. Despite this, many community members in this area have stated that the money will not bring back what they have lost, which is clean waterways, fish, and their community. This lawsuit is one of many that has recently been launched against Shell as a corporation that has been responsible for a lot of the oil spills and pollution in Nigeria as a country.

This article is really indicative of what’s going on in the world with environmental justice because it represents the intersection between companies who believe that they are right and who are disregarding the environment in these small communities. These communities are being put at a disadvantage because of things that are outside of their control and are not getting taken completely seriously. In this regard, this article makes me happy because companies are being held accountable for what they’ve done for so many years which I think is really important and there needs to be justice on that end. At the same time, it does seem apparent that there needs to be more done and there are a number of stories like this one and those also need to be solved.  This story is a step in the right direction for environmental justice, but it points to there being a lot of steps that still need to be taken.