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Protecting life and vital ecosystems in Guyana & across the planet
Melinda Janki is an award winning international lawyer and TED speaker opposing dangerous deep sea oil and gas exploitation offshore Guyana. Stopping these projects is non-negotiable for the ocean, the atmosphere, and life on earth — the stakes couldn’t be higher.
Watch Melinda's TED talk at the TED Countdown Summit in Nairobi June 2025.
The practice
Challenging
Oil & Gas
Greenhouse gas pollution causes global overheating, climate system breakdown and ocean acidification. Enough is enough. Fossil fuels cost the earth.
Protecting the
natural world
Humans are part of an intricate natural system. For millennia, the natural world has provided us with air, water, food and meaning. We must live in harmony with the earth and our more than human companions.
Defending indigenous
& native rights
From Guyana to West Papua and beyond, indigenous and native peoples have the right to self-determination for themselves and their territories.
Meet Melinda
Opposing a desperate and reckless fossil fuel industry in Guyana; writing national laws to protect nature and indigenous and local people; and winning victories in landmark court cases.
Legal Cases
Browse the case files here for the top-line details. Click through to learn more. View all cases here.
Thomas v Environmental Protection Agency and Esso Exploration and Production Guyana Ltd., 2020
In 2020, Dr. Troy Thomas challenged the EPA’s 23-year oil permits to Exxon’s subsidiary, arguing they breached the 5-year legal limit and risked grave climate harm. On October 7, 2020, the Supreme Court approved a consent order: EPA cut the permits to 5 years, expiring in 2022 and 2024, and was ordered to pay Thomas’ costs.
95%
reduction in global coal use needed by 2050 to limit global overheating to 1.5°C
$295 billion
per year needed in developing countries by 2050 to adapt to climate change
9 warmest years on record
occurred between 2014–2022
Media
German documentaries, American podcasts, Guyanese newspapers; fighting fossil fuels, defending the planet and upholding the rule of law has sparked interest across the globe. Browse publications related to my work below.