The Intransigence of Big Oil and the Landscape for Climate Action: The Case of Exxon Mobil and the Guyana Oil Expeditation

In 2015, Exxon, which is known in Guyana as Esso, struck oil off the coast, the first significant find in the country’s history. The scale of the discovery, 11 billion barrels so far, landed Guyana on the list of the world’s top “carbon bombs”— fossil fuel projects capable of releasing more than a gigaton of carbon dioxide. Exxon ultimately plans to produce more than 1 million barrels of oil a day. By the year 2030., Guyana will be one of the world’s top 20 oil producers because of it’s dense blanket of rain forests and minimal emissions. An Exxon Mobil spokesperson says that during the world’s transition to cleaner energy, “we need two things at the same time: reduced emissions and a reliable source of energy. Exxon Mobil has a role to play in both.” By 2027, Exxon expects its Guyana operations to have “about 30 percent lower greenhouse gas intensity” than its average oil or gas production. Climate experts estimate that 2030 is also the year by which much of Georgetown and coastal Guyana will be underwater as a result of unchecked global warming. Those living in the interior of the country will face the devastating impacts of worsening droughts and floods, from intensifying food insecurity to loss of land and homes. The Guyanese government gave Exxon the green light. Exxon was a co-conspirator in the case.

But what can be done about that? I spoke to the subcommittee chair about the intransigence of Big Oil, what tools could be used to bring them to account and the landscape for climate action after the Inflation Reduction Act.

In late June, inside a squat concrete building in Georgetown, Guyana, on a noisy street flanked by telephone repair shops and beauty supply stores, two lawyers were waging one of the most significant legal battles in the global fight against climate change. The two men sat at a computer in the ground floor office and looked at the screen while waiting to connect to the Supreme Court via the internet. The fear that the internet would conk out was real, as the internet is unreliable at best in the capital city.

The lawyers were odd to be around. Burch- Smith is well-versed in her field. He will likely answer “yes” if you ask him if he knows the time. Janki is a woman of warmth with a sharp wit, and quickly moved to condemn injustice, ranging from the war in Ukraine to the litter on the street. There is a framed Phantom of the Opera playbill over his desk. The art in the office is a little more combative: there is a life-size painting of a fierce yellow Jaguar that appears poised to step out of a blackened forest and straight through the picture frame. The two attorneys have launched an attack on Exxon Mobil, one of the world’s largest corporations with a legal muscle to match.

Georgetown’s lush beauty and abundance of water: The vulnerability of a poor, industrialized city to climate change and its vulnerability to extreme weather

Georgetown’s lush beauty—its neighborhoods teem with tropical flowers in scarlet reds, peacock blues, sun-kissed yellows, and turquoise greens—is made possible by its abundant sources of water: Rivers and canals carve paths through the streets, carrying water from the Amazon to the Atlantic, along whose coast most of the city—and 90 percent of the nation’s population—resides. Viewed differently, though, the abundance of water is a sign of Georgetown’s particular vulnerability to climate change. The city is impoverished and is rapidly industrializing. Newly traffic-c streets can not handle the amount of horse-drawn carts they have. It’s a common sight to see beaten down homes and buildings in places of war or extreme weather.