Nnennaya Nwali’s justice-focused lens: keeping people at the centre of law, energy and the environmental debate

For Nnennaya Nwali, questions of energy, environment, and justice are never abstract. Growing up in Nigeria, she saw how the wealth of natural resources often translated into harm rather than benefit to the local people, particularly in the Niger Delta, where oil extraction has left a deep and lasting mark on communities. From early on, she recognised that the challenge was not simply technical but political. There were solutions on paper, but little will to implement them, and the gap between global policy language and lived realities was striking. This background would later shape Nnennaya’s decision to pursue environmental and energy law and continues to drive her research today.

When she began her PhD, her initial research centred on hydrogen law, which at the time was rapidly emerging within energy debates. The gaps in the literature were evident, and despite not coming from a technical background, she immersed herself in scientific literature to engage with the subject. She remembers she quickly found herself working through a chemistry textbook just to grasp the basics. The work was demanding and rewarding, yet she felt something essential was missing – people.

She began asking important questions about what was happening to communities most affected by energy transitions. Her determination to bring the focus back to questions of justice led to a significant reorientation of her project. A panel review prompted her to set aside much of her first year’s work and start afresh. This was very challenging, and she often wondered if she had taken on more than she could manage. Yet, with steady support from her family and a new supervisory team, she persevered and was able to realign her project, placing communities and social impact at the centre. In hindsight, she sees this shift as part of the purpose of doctoral research: to learn how to refine questions, adapt, and redirect the research.

With her project reframed, Nnennaya found her voice in the growing conversation about Just Transitions. Her research sits at the intersection of law, energy, and social justice, examining not only technologies but also the structures and inequalities that shape them. Now, as she approaches the end of her PhD, her questions are both sharper and broader. She highlights the importance of place and context-sensitive just transitions, arguing that for a transition to be truly ‘just’, it must look different across places, scales, and sectors. Her thesis undertakes a comparative analysis of the energy transition discourse in Scotland, Nigeria, and South Africa to derive legal and policy measures to this end. She is also particularly interested in corporate accountability, asking how far multinational corporations can be held responsible for the actions of their subsidiaries abroad. In a global energy system where responsibility is often dispersed, she argues that this is a crucial but underexplored issue.

Climate change is already reshaping daily life in Nigeria, where temperatures have risen to unbearable levels in recent years. Rising droughts and food insecurity are further straining already vulnerable communities, threatening livelihoods and deepening inequalities. For her, this is a clear emergency, yet one that receives insufficient international attention. Even when funds are promised, they rarely reach those most affected, leaving communities vulnerable and excluded from decision-making. The disconnects between high-level policy and lived experience underscore the urgency of her work.

Looking beyond her PhD, Nnennaya is realistic about the challenges ahead. With academic posts in the UK in short supply, she is exploring diverse career pathways across academia, policy and international organisations like the United Nations, which remains a particular ambition. Whatever the future holds, she wants to balance research with practice, believing that hands-on experience will not only enrich her teaching but also ensure her work remains grounded in real-world impact.

Her reflections also extend into wider questions about diversity and representation in academia and policy, where she sees funding as a persistent barrier. In her experience, opportunities are too often shared too narrowly or too late. Greater collaboration, especially with NGOs and grassroots organisations, is, she argues, essential to broaden participation and ensure a diversity of voices. For her, meaningful inclusion requires early, conscious engagement and a willingness to step outside of siloed ways of working.

Whether considering climate change, corporate responsibility, community resilience, or the structures of academic and policy spaces, Nnennaya’s work is guided by a justice-focused lens, keeping people at the centre of law, energy and environmental debates. For her, transitions are not just about technology but also about people.

Nnennaya (Jennifer) Nwali

Doctoral researcher in Climate, Energy, Environment, and Natural Resources Law, University of Aberdeen

Read more about Nnennaya’s work:
University of Aberdeen profile
ORCiD Profile

Contact Nnennaya :
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Nnennaya was interviewed by Jaya Gajparia as part of her new ACCESS interview series, spotlighting environmental social scientists with global-majority backgrounds. Read more.