The Right to Pollute? Climate Justice, Energy Poverty, and Nigeria’s Dilemma in the Shadow of the Niger Delta

Abstract

This paper examines the ethical trilemma confronting Nigeria as it navigates the conflicting imperatives of global climate mitigation, domestic energy poverty, and reparative justice for the ecologically devastated Niger Delta. We argue that Nigeria’s position represents a “triple injustice,” wherein the global demand for decarbonization constrains its developmental rights, while the legacy of local environmental violence and persistent energy deprivation remain unaddressed. The analysis critiques the Nigerian government’s “Decade of Gas” strategy, revealing its inadequacy as a just transition framework. We contend that leveraging fossil fuels for development is ethically untenable without first discharging the nation’s ecological debt to the Niger Delta. The paper concludes by advocating for a conditionality-based approach, positing that a just and viable pathway requires a moratorium on new fossil fuel projects contingent upon the full remediation of the Delta and a strategic pivot toward decentralized renewable energy systems as the primary solution to energy poverty. This framework reconciles Nigeria’s right to development with its local and global responsibilities, offering a critical alternative to the prevailing policy discourse.