Adrienne Buller
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adriennebuller.bsky.social
Adrienne Buller
@adriennebuller.bsky.social
4.7K followers 340 following 84 posts
Editor & host of @the-breakdown.bsky.social
Fellow @cmmonwealth.bsky.social
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adriennebuller.bsky.social
In 2020 around the time of the 25th anniversary, I wrote this about Shell's legacy in the Niger Delta in a small book with @mathewlawrence.bsky.social, Owning the Future
The Niger River Delta is home to Africa’s largest mangrove forest, a remarkable ecosystem capable of storing twice as much carbon as a terrestrial forest. Between labyrinths of submerged roots, mangroves conceal a dizzying array of plant and animal life, breathing oxygen into waterways and sustaining vast wetlands rich in biodiversity while supporting the livelihoods of millions of local fishers and farmers in the Delta. It is also one of the most polluted places on Earth. Hemmed in by a maze of decades-old, often deteriorating pipelines owned by the likes of Shell, Texaco, and Exxon, the Delta has endured thousands of oil spills since extraction began in 1958. Some estimates suggest that as many as 40 million litres of crude oil pours into the area every year– with near impunity for the companies involved. Gas flares and toxic runoff choke the air and the water table. The result is devastation: thousands of kilometres of mangrove forest have been destroyed or are at risk, wiping out ecosystems and livelihoods, while adjacent farmland has been flooded with oil. Rates of cancer, neurodegenerative disease, and birth defects are all abnormally high. A recent study estimated that in 2012 alone, 16,000 Nigerian infants died within their first month of life due to oil pollution in the Delta. In 1994, a military task force (allegedly with backing from oil giant Royal Dutch Shell) was established to put down a protest against Shell’s operations in Ogoniland. After the protest was crushed, nine local activists were executed for their involvement following a sham trial. Military enforcement continues to cast a long shadow over the region, with residents subject to routine intimidation and violence. Despite the wilful destruction and neglect of the delta’s delicate and vital ecosystem over several decades, and accusations of violence against its people, Shell has come away relatively unscathed, even carving out a place as an apparent ‘leader’ in the oil industry for its much-publicised U-turn to a ‘cleaner’ future. In February 2021, Shell announced it would become ‘net zero’ in its operations by 2050, affirming its commitment to ‘generating shareholder value, achieving net-zero emissions, powering lives and respecting nature’ – in that order. As a cornerstone of this initiative, it began championing ‘nature-based solutions’ to the climate crisis, namely mass tree-planting projects to offset the firm’s emissions. But beneath the glossy press coverage and leafy promotional videos lurked a darker reality.
November 11, 2025 at 2:56 PM
adriennebuller.bsky.social
Hundreds of volunteers remain illegally detained in Ktzi'ot prison, including a dear friend, with widespread reports of mistreatment and limited access for the legal team to volunteers

US friends in particular, but everyone who can, please contact your representatives — help free them all
October 6, 2025 at 12:37 PM
adriennebuller.bsky.social
At long last, the Net Zero Banking Alliance gives up the ghost.

I wrote on the implications of its slow-motion demise earlier this year for the Guardian -

www.theguardian.com/commentisfre...
October 6, 2025 at 11:27 AM
adriennebuller.bsky.social
"In the rush to charge our clean energy transition with freshly mined South American lithium, we risk replicating the unsustainable systems that contributed to this crisis in the first place."

Sam Meadows documents the battery rush for @the-breakdown.bsky.social

www.break-down.org/the-desert-a...
September 26, 2025 at 1:15 PM
adriennebuller.bsky.social
New from @the-breakdown.bsky.social ISSUE 2

Photojournalist Garry Lotulung documents the exlosion of nickel mining, largely for batteries, in Halmahera, Indonesia—speaking with workers, locals & members of the island's Indigenous community

Photographed: Daniel Totabo
Daniel Totabo fishes for eel in the Halmahera rainforest Nickel mines enroach on the rainforest in central Halmahera
September 23, 2025 at 12:52 PM
adriennebuller.bsky.social
!!🚨!🚨!🚨!!

Copies of @the-breakdown.bsky.social Issue #2 FRONTIERS now in the wild and coming to you soon.

Plus a sneak peek of an incredible photo essay by Indonesian photojournalist Garry Lotulung, documenting nickel mining on the island of Halmahera

Get yours: www.break-down.org/tag/issue-02/
September 19, 2025 at 2:28 PM
adriennebuller.bsky.social
Will be celebrating the launch of Issue 2 at Climate Week w/ @cmmonwealth.bsky.social

Come hang out w me and excellent panellists David Wallace-Wells, @brusselermel.bsky.social @batul.bsky.social @70sbachchan.bsky.social to talk about green planning + much more

Tix free but going fast!
September 10, 2025 at 1:36 PM
adriennebuller.bsky.social
And launch tickets:

www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/the-breakd...
April 23, 2025 at 4:32 PM