The flaring of associated gas (AG) in the Niger Delta is a human rights, environmental and economic monstrosity. Nowhere else in the world have communities been subjected to it on such a scale. It is estimated to cost Nigeria US $2.5 billion annually,[ 1 ] whilst the roaring, toxic flares affect the health and livelihoods of Delta inhabitants. It is estimated that 66% of Nigerians live below the poverty line.[ 2 ]
Gas flares contribute significantly to climate change, thus affecting communities all over the world. With Nigerian per capita GNP lower than at independence, they are an appalling waste of resources that the country cannot afford.
Everybody seems to agree that the flaring should stop. There is even a Global Gas Flaring Reduction Initiative, promoted by the World Bank, for which Nigeria is an important focus. Yet the country remains the world's biggest gas flarer.
We say that flaring must stop. And the time has come for all communities, citizens and the courts to insist on ending the dangerous practice. Not only is it unacceptable, unaffordable and avoidable, it is also, in our view, illegal.
This Report, written by Environmental Rights Action (ERA) and the Climate Justice Programme:
It is a story of appalling carelessness, greed, corruption, double standards and environmental racism. Perhaps, above all, it is a story of serial, cumulative and shameful failure, on the part of British colonialism, the oil companies and the Nigerian ruling elite.
This story's final chapter is long overdue. We are committed to helping write it.
[ 1 ] "[F]laring represents a significant economic loss (lost opportunity value estimated at some US$2.5 billion, based on LNG values)", Strategic Gas Plan for Nigeria, Joint UNDP/World Bank Energy Sector Management Assistance Programme (ESMAP) (February 2004), page 13, paragraph 1.13.
[ 2 ] "GNP per capita, at about US$320, is below the level at independence forty years ago and below the US$370 that it gained in 1985. About 66 percent of the population now falls below the poverty line of roughly one U.S. dollar a day, compared to 43 percent in 1985. Economic mismanagement, corruption, and excessive dependence on oil have been the main causes of the poor economic performance and rising poverty." World Bank Nigeria Country Briefing, April 2005, available here.
Executive Summary | Introduction | Section 2 | Section 3 | Section 4 | Section 5 | Section 6 | Section 7 | Section 8 | Section 9 | Conclusions