{"id":6966,"date":"2026-08-31T12:22:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T10:22:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/?p=190465"},"modified":"2026-08-31T12:22:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-31T10:22:06","slug":"uk-could-face-hundreds-of-trillions-in-ecological-reparations-new-report-says","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/uk-could-face-hundreds-of-trillions-in-ecological-reparations-new-report-says\/","title":{"rendered":"UK Could Face Hundreds of Trillions in Ecological Reparations, New Report Says"},"content":{"rendered":"

LAGOS, NIGERIA: <\/strong>A new report unveiled at the University of Lagos has opened a potentially significant new front in Africa\u2019s reparations campaign, arguing that the ecological damage caused by British colonial rule could constitute a separate reparations category worth hundreds of trillions of dollars<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

Titled CO2lonialism, Ecocide and Reparations<\/em>, the report examines the long-term environmental consequences of colonial policies across former African colonies, including the systematic appropriation of land, natural resources and energy.<\/p>\n

The report argues that the ecological consequences of colonial extraction should be subjected to rigorous historical, scientific and monetary assessment alongside other forms of colonial harm.<\/p>\n

Presenting the report at the University of Lagos, its lead author, Professor J. G. Nkem Onyekpe<\/strong>, said existing approaches to reparations have not adequately accounted for the environmental dimension of colonial extraction.<\/p>\n

According to Prof. Onyekpe, comparable large-scale valuation exercises have demonstrated that structurally unequal appropriation of resources can be monetised. He cited a peer-reviewed 2022 estimate that valued resources appropriated from the Global South through unequal exchange at more than $10 trillion in 2015 alone<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

He argued that extending such analysis across the duration of colonial rule and the affected African states could produce a figure running into the hundreds of trillions of dollars.<\/p>\n

The legal dimension of the report was also examined during the panel.<\/p>\n

Speaking at the launch, Dr. Asikia Karibi-Whyte<\/strong>, a jurisprudence and international law expert, challenged the position that present-day governments cannot be held responsible for wrongdoing committed by previous governments.<\/p>\n

She argued that the United Kingdom is recognised in law as a continuing state entity, regardless of changes in its government or political leadership.<\/p>\n

Dr. Karibi-Whyte also pointed to the Nauru case<\/strong> before the International Court of Justice as an important precedent. In that case, a formerly colonised state brought a claim against its former colonial administrator concerning environmental devastation resulting from colonial-era phosphate mining.<\/p>\n

Adding an environmental perspective to the discussion, Professor Nnagugwu Oscar Uluocha<\/strong>, Professor of Geography at the University of Lagos, described the ecological damage inflicted on Nigeria during British colonial rule as \u201ccolossal.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

He emphasised the importance of examining the environmental consequences of colonial land-use, agricultural and resource-extraction policies through scientific evidence and environmental analysis.<\/p>\n

The report examines ecological impacts associated with colonial systems of resource extraction and economic production and argues that environmental repair should form part of the broader African reparations framework.<\/p>\n

The authors argue that the emerging international legal and institutional conversation around ecocide, together with the African Union\u2019s decision to examine the classification of massive destruction of environmental ecosystems as a crime, creates an important opportunity for an African-led approach to ecological reparations.<\/p>\n

Images:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Panel Session (L-R Prof Oscar, Dr Karibi-Whytte, Prof Onyekpe, Moderator Abraham Whyte<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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More Info on UK Could Face Hundreds of Trillions in Ecological Reparations, New Report Says here:<\/strong> http:\/\/ecocideafrica.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/CO2lonialism_Ecocide_Reparations_Report-very-final.pdf<\/a>
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CLICK HERE to Read the Original Press Release on MyPR<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

LAGOS, NIGERIA: A new report unveiled at the University of Lagos has opened a potentially significant new front in Africa\u2019s reparations campaign, arguing that the ecological damage caused by British colonial rule could constitute a separate reparations category worth hundreds of trillions of dollars. Titled CO2lonialism, Ecocide and Reparations, the report examines the long-term environmental …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","autoblue_enabled":true,"autoblue_custom_message":"","autoblue_shares":[{"did":"did:plc:revymtt5qssww7e7avbruzic","date":"2026-08-31T11:00:16+00:00","uri":"at:\/\/did:plc:revymtt5qssww7e7avbruzic\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3muequlmjtu2l","response":"{\"uri\":\"at:\/\/did:plc:revymtt5qssww7e7avbruzic\/app.bsky.feed.post\/3muequlmjtu2l\",\"cid\":\"bafyreigamirac4ia3de7e4pwubnaalivzfnw5vfp6kwvn4dp3duxfq4eye\",\"commit\":{\"cid\":\"bafyreihnsekpwchuajczneb4tiep27ryksj7ew7vqrn6xdrezwyyyabcwe\",\"rev\":\"3muequlmrnu2l\"},\"validationStatus\":\"valid\"}"}],"autoblue_post_url":"","autoblue_publish_document":false,"republication-tracker-tool-hide-widget":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[28,3],"tags":[29],"class_list":["type-post","category-featured","category-news","tag-mypr-africa","entry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6966","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6966"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6966\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6966"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6966"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mypr.co.za\/mail\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6966"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}