Shell is being sued over oil spills by two communities in Nigeria, who are claiming compensation from the multi-national energy company in order to clean up their land. Legal action is being taken by the Ogale and Billie communities who claim that since 1989 successive and uncleaned oil spills have meant that these communities have no clean drinking water or farmland and want compensation. According to a November 2015 report by Amnesty International, four spill sites, which Shell claimed it would clean up are still contaminated. Yesterday, the first court hearing at the Technology and Construction Court, ruled that the claimants can bring a case against Shell’s Nigerian business, known as Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria (SPDC).

Marco A. Attisani, founder and CEO of Watly comments, “Oil and gasoline are such a seductive and powerful source of energy, yet represent a serious national hazard, causing devastating pollution and contamination when systems fail. Although compensation is necessary, it is a short-sighted solution, which does not solve the wider problem. Land, homes and communities are still at risk of being damaged.

“As the speed of technological advancement continues to increase, it is ludicrous that we are still relying on outdated energy sources to power our new innovations. We are essentially powering civilisation with an energy paradigm, which has been shown to be problematic and which emerged during the very first industrial revolution – hundreds of years ago. We have access to newer, cleaner energy sources like solar and wind energy, with advances in technology which makes these more viable than ever, and which are able to push us forward as a civilisation. Compensation is a cover-up operation. The future lies in a more sustainable solution which in which green energy sources empower vulnerable communities to compete on a level playing field,” he added.