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By Anastasia Moloney
BOGOTA, May 31 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) - A landmark lawsuit filed against Guyana s government, arguing that oil production fuels climate change, could bolster legal action as court cases involving energy companies and state authorities surge, according to lawyers and environmentalists.
The constitutional claim - the first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean - asserts that oil exploration and production led by U.S. oil major ExxonMobil off the South American country s coast is unconstitutional, said the case s lead lawyer Melinda Janki.
Climate lawsuits gain traction as Guyanese fight for healthy environment Constitutional claim against oil major ExxonMobil follows huge climate wins in courts elsewhere 01 June 2021 - 17:27 Anastasia Moloney A view of the ExxonMobil Baton Rouge Refinery in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the US, May 15 2021. Picture: REUTERS/KATHLEEN FLYNN
Bogota A landmark lawsuit filed against Guyana’s government, arguing that oil production fuels climate change, could bolster legal action as court cases involving energy companies and state authorities surge, according to lawyers and environmentalists.
The constitutional claim the first of its kind in the English-speaking Caribbean asserts that oil exploration and production led by US oil major ExxonMobil off the South American country’s coast is unconstitutional, said the case’s lead lawyer, Melinda Janki.
GUYANA faces a legal challenge over offshore drilling by Exxon Mobil and other companies, which are accused of exacerbating the climate crisis as they seek to profit from an oilfield in disputed waters.
Two of its citizens, 21-year-old tour guide Quadad de Freitas and university professor Dr Troy Thomas, filed a case against the government earlier this month saying its approval of oil exploration licences “violates the government’s legal obligation to protect their right and the right of future generations to a clean environment.”
It is believed to be the first constitutional climate case in the Caribbean to challenge fossil-fuel production on human rights grounds.
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