Recap – Beyond Divestment: Toxic Legacies of the Oil and Gas Industry from the Niger Delta to North America, with Anna Zalik and Isaac Osuoka

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Published on July 23, 2026

On November 26, 2025, Dahdaleh Institute Faculty Fellow Anna Zalik and Isaac Osuoka, Coordinator at Social Action International, delivered a presentation examining the toxic legacies of the oil and gas industry. Their discussion drew upon findings from the report An Environmental Genocide: The Human and Environmental Cost of Big Oil in Bayelsa, produced by the Bayelsa State (Nigeria) Oil and Environmental Commission following five years of research and investigation culminating in 2024. Both Zalik and Osuoka were members of the Commission’s Expert Working Group.

Osuoka began by contextualizing divestment as a strategy for climate change mitigation, assuming fossil fuel companies reduced investment in extraction and consumption and redirected capital toward renewable energy. While this approach has been pushed, in part to raise awareness about the climate impacts of fossil fuels, critics argue that divestment alone does not directly reduce fossil fuel demand.

In practice, international oil companies have increasingly divested from locations with significant environmental liabilities, such as the Niger Delta, while shifting extraction to deeper offshore waters. These offshore operations often involve weaker regulatory oversight, reduced liability exposure, and limited community participation. As Osuoka emphasized, moving extraction offshore does not reduce production or emissions; rather, it often enables their expansion under weaker oversight, highlighting the limits of market-driven climate strategies and the need for an energy transition that is historically grounded and socially just.

Osuoka also highlighted the broader historical and structural context of petroleum extraction. He noted that many contemporary transition frameworks leave colonial property regimes and extractive political economies intact, reproducing patterns of marginalization rooted in colonialism. In this sense, petro-capitalism continues to marginalize communities in extraction zones while concentrating wealth and power elsewhere.

Zalik then focused on the empirical findings of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission, highlighting the extensive toxicological and public-health evidence gathered during the Commission’s investigation. Laboratory analysis of more than 1,600 blood samples collected from residents confirmed direct exposure to extremely high levels of industrial pollutants, including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chromium, cadmium, nickel, and lead. These substances are associated with severe health consequences, including neurological damage, kidney failure, carcinogenic effects, reproductive disorders, and developmental problems in children.

Zalik also discussed the impact of gas flaring and air pollution in the region. Continuous flaring releases toxic gases and particulate matter that contaminate soils, crops, and water systems while exposing nearby communities to carcinogens such as benzene and other volatile compounds. These emissions contribute to respiratory illnesses, cardiovascular disease, and other chronic health conditions in surrounding populations.

Taken together, the Commission’s findings demonstrate that the scale of toxic exposure in Bayelsa has created a silent, population-wide public health emergency that has persisted for generations. Communities experience high rates of illness, malnutrition, and premature mortality linked to environmental contamination and the collapse of traditional livelihoods dependent on agriculture and fisheries.

Osuoka also addressed the financial implications of environmental remediation in Bayelsa State. The Commission estimates that approximately $12 billion would be required over a 12-year period to remediate contaminated land and water systems, restore ecosystems, and address the associated public health crisis. He emphasized that international oil companies and other responsible actors must bear the financial responsibility for this remediation under the polluter-pays principle.

The discussion concluded by emphasizing the importance of leveraging the Commission’s findings as evidence for legal, political, and policy action. While decarbonization remains essential in addressing climate change, the speakers stressed that climate action must also address the toxic legacies of fossil fuel extraction, ensure accountability for historical pollution, and center the rights and well-being of communities most affected by the global energy system.

Connect with Anna Zalik

Watch the full seminar here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTz_7qx_9ZI

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