Environmental Justice in the Age of Energy Transition: A Case Study of Shell's Operational Impact on Bayelsa State Ecosystem (2000-2023)

This study investigates environmental justice within the context of the ongoing energy transition, focusing on the shell's operational impact on the ecosystem of Bayelsa State, Nigeria. It assesses the effects of shell's activities on local communities, particularly regarding environmental degradation and socioeconomic well-being. The research employs a descriptive design, surveying 290 respondents, including chiefs, community leaders, youths, and opinion leaders from ten purposively selected oil-producing communities in Bayelsa State. Data were collected using a self-designed questionnaire on environmental justice concerns and Shell's operational impact, with responses measured on a four-point Likert scale. The questionnaire's validity was ensured through expert review, with reliability confirmed by a Cronbach's alpha of 0.73. Data collection, achieved with a 91% response rate, involved frequency counts, percentages, means, standard deviations, and independent linear regression to test the null hypothesis at a 0.05 significance level. The findings reveal a statistically significant relationship between Shell's operational activities and the degradation of Bayelsa State's ecosystem. Additionally, the study discovered that community resistance significantly influences corporate accountability, with Shell's operations detrimentally affecting environmental justice and ecological integrity in the region. Thus this research contributes to the broader discourse on environmental justice during the energy transition, offering specific recommendations for Shell to adopt a human rights-based approach to its operations, emphasizing ecological restoration to address the environmental and social harms caused by its activities in oil-producing regions.