FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 13, 2020
Yesterday, a Guyanese court issued a ruling in a judicial review action brought against the government and three companies — Esso (Exxon), Hess, and CNOOC Nexen — for failing to comply with the Environmental Protection Act.
“Ironically, this ruling comes just as a new study shows the Deepwater Horizon disaster ten years ago had much farther-reaching (and still ongoing) environmental impacts than previously believed. And yet, the court has ruled that it’s ok for companies to skate by while giving nothing more than a head nod to their environmental obligations. Beyond the pollution from the drilling itself, there is no telling how catastrophic an oil spill would be not only for Guyana, but for all of the Caribbean — not to mention the impacts from climate change that would be exacerbated by extracting and burning more fossil fuels.” says Erika Lennon, Senior Attorney at the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL).
The court ruled against the plaintiff, Ramon Gaskin, who brought the case as part of the campaign A Fair Deal for the Planet – A Fair Deal for Guyana, who challenged the companies’ offshore oil operations because two of the companies failed to obtain the necessary environmental permits. The lawsuit claimed that the government’s deal with the companies was illegal because it granted a petroleum production license before the permits were obtained. However, yesterday’s ruling found that the one environmental permit issued to Esso covered the “project” and that each individual company was bound to it. Mr. Gaskin intends to appeal the decision, saying, “I see no evidence in the Environmental Protection Act that a project can be an applicant for an environmental permit.”
Rich in biodiversity, Guyana is a carbon sink. However, the recent offshore oil discoveries have led Exxon and other oil companies to move into Guyana and seek leases to begin offshore drilling that would turn Guyana from a carbon sink into a carbon emitter. This shift comes at a time of growing recognition of the need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to have any chance of holding global temperature rise below 1.5C.
“The entire oil industry is in financial distress, especially ExxonMobil,” says Steven Feit, Staff Attorney at CIEL. “Guyana is betting its future on a company and an industry that is failing to show strong financial returns and accumulating debt, all while driving the climate crisis. But the relationship is actually the reverse: Exxon is relying on Guyana to save its bottom line. Guyana should not lock itself into a faustian bargain with an industry in decline, where the best-case scenario comes with climate catastrophe.”
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