Podcast Summary:

How we took on an oil giant — and won | Melinda Janki
Podcast: TED Talks Daily
Air Date: September 22, 2025
Speaker: Melinda Janki
Host: Elise Hu

Episode Overview

This episode features climate justice lawyer Melinda Janki, who shares her remarkable story of leading legal battles against ExxonMobil’s oil drilling activities in her home country of Guyana. Drawing on her experience as both a former oil industry lawyer and an environmental advocate, Janki explains how she used the law—and specifically environmental and human rights protections enshrined in existing statutes—to achieve unprecedented wins against one of the world's oil giants. The episode highlights not only the power of legal strategies but also the importance of persistence and community in fighting climate injustice.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Personal Journey: From Oil Industry Insider to Environmental Litigator

[03:01 - 04:13]

• Janki begins by sharing her background as a corporate lawyer within a major oil company. A pivotal moment—a colleague calling a massive deal “so sexy”—motivated her to leave.

• She returns to Guyana, where she drafts laws to protect the environment and indigenous lands and empowers local communities to defend their forests.

  “Nature lives with me in my house and in my garden. I’m talking about the birds, the butterflies, the flowers, the trees, the bees, the bats, the toads, the lizards, the opossums, the little snakes. All of them are my family.”
  —Melinda Janki [04:06]

2. The ExxonMobil Discovery and Legal Challenge

[04:20 - 06:05]

• 2015: ExxonMobil discovers over 11 billion barrels of oil off Guyana’s coast—a find with the potential to emit 5 billion tons of greenhouse gases if extracted.

• Acknowledges the daunting power of the oil industry, but insists it can be challenged and beaten through legal means.

  “They want you to believe that you can’t fight them, but you can. And you can win. I’m doing it. And so can you.”
  —Melinda Janki [05:01]

3. Using Existing Laws for Game-Changing Wins

[06:10 - 08:19]

• Describes how she was initially laughed at for taking on Exxon with limited resources and a single elderly client (“a pensioner for a client”).

• By meticulously combing through legal documents, Janki found a clause limiting environmental permits to five years, effectively cutting ExxonMobil’s permits from 20 to 5 years in 2020.

• The approach: use the laws as written, asking judges not to create new statutes but to enforce existing ones.

  “I don’t ask judges to make new laws. I don’t use moral arguments. I use existing law. My heart tells me what to do, but my head tells me how to do it.”
  —Melinda Janki [07:16]

4. Landmark Ruling on Scope 3 Emissions

[07:40 - 08:48]

• The most recent victory (March 2025): Convincing the court that ExxonMobil’s environmental impact assessments must account for Scope 3 emissions—GHGs produced wherever the oil is burned, globally.
• This legal precedent applies to all future oil projects in Guyana.

5. Forcing Accountability and Corporate Guarantees

[08:49 - 10:30]

• Courts found ExxonMobil Guyana Limited liable for ALL cleanup and compensation costs from drilling damage, imposing “unlimited” parent company liability and requiring Exxon to provide an unlimited guarantee.
• After this ruling, Exxon’s share price dropped by 12% within two weeks.
• Additional victories: requiring insurance, a $2 billion guarantee, and restricting production licenses for some of Exxon’s partners.

6. Lowering Barriers for Environmental Litigants

[10:31 - 12:00]

• Janki narrates a case involving a pensioner nicknamed “Rambo.” Although they lost, the court ruled that environmental litigants should not have to pay the opposing side’s costs if they lose. This “protective costs order” now applies in five countries and removes a major barrier to environmental litigation.

  “That makes it easier for people to go to court now and fight the oil industry.”
  —Melinda Janki [11:32]

7. The Oil Industry’s Weakness and the Power of Community

[12:01 - 13:34]

• Janki asserts that the oil industry’s business model is inherently unsustainable and destined to collapse.

• Encourages listeners not to be intimidated or to fall into despair—fight with “courage and intelligence” to win.

  “Don’t be fooled by the big, bad image of the oil industry. We have the advantage. The oil industry is weak. It’s powerless. It’s going to collapse. It’s only a question of when.”
  —Melinda Janki [13:17]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Emotional Connection to Nature:
  “In the quiet stillness of an afternoon when a hummingbird shimmers in the air just a few feet away from me, I know there is magic on Earth.”
  —Melinda Janki [04:00]

• On Legal Power:
  “Law is power. I’m a lawyer. I use law.”
  —Melinda Janki [05:25]

• On Fighting the Oil Industry:
  “When we fight with courage and intelligence, we beat the oil industry.”
  —Melinda Janki [13:29]

Timestamps for Key Segments

| Time | Topic | |------------|------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:01 | Melinda Janki’s oil industry background and turning point | | 04:20 | Returning to Guyana and defending nature | | 05:01 | ExxonMobil’s oil discovery and initial legal resistance | | 06:10 | Enforcing permit limits—legal strategy success | | 07:40 | Court victory: mandate on Scope 3 emissions | | 08:49 | Court ruling: Exxon’s unlimited liability, market impact | | 10:31 | Rambo’s case and removing litigation cost barriers | | 12:01 | The oil industry’s weakness and a call to collective action |

Tone & Language

Janki’s language is direct, hopeful, and laced with personal conviction. She anchors her arguments in love for nature and a belief in the transformative power of the law. Her delivery is both rational and passionate, empowering listeners to see themselves as agents of change.

Conclusion

Melinda Janki’s TED Talk, as featured on TED Talks Daily, is a masterclass in using existing laws to hold powerful polluters to account. Her victories against ExxonMobil serve as a blueprint and inspiration for activists worldwide, reminding audiences that the battle against climate injustice is not unwinnable—and that courage, intelligence, and the strategic use of the law can level the playing field.