In a very special Earth Month episode, Zack, Jenn, and Alex use Nigeria as a case study to uncover the deep reasons why it’s so hard for the world to quit fossil fuels. Nigeria is a country deeply threatened by climate change, but it’s also one with a major oil industry that hopes to lift millions out of poverty — a feat that has never been done without some degree of reliance on dirty energy. The team explains how these barriers affect the prospects for mitigating climate change in both Nigeria and globally, and talk about what solutions might help overcome these barriers.

References:

Check out all of Vox’s Earth Month podcasts.

This is Nigeria’s national climate action plan.

Reuters reports on how Nigeria’s minister of environment said the country must be ready for oil’s decline.

Science magazine explains how fighting poverty makes it harder to fight climate change.

Amnesty International details the Shell controversy Zack mentioned.

Olúfẹ́mi Táíwò wrote about the African case for carbon capture for Africa Is A Country.

Zack read from this smart paper on home energy needs in Nigeria.

Here’s Private Empire, the book on ExxonMobil by Steve Coll that Alex referenced.

Learn about the problem with “degrowth.”

Hosts:

Zack Beauchamp (@zackbeauchamp), senior correspondent, Vox

Jennifer Williams (@jenn_ruth), senior foreign editor, Vox

Alex Ward (@AlexWardVox), White House reporter, Vox

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