nigeria aid case study

On where the foreign aid comes from, the findings show that, most of the foreign aid received by Nigeria comes from multi-national institutions like the World Bank and the IMF as 74% of the respondents agreed to this assertion. The result also show that, 26% of the respondents believe that, most of the foreign aid received by Nigeria comes from bilateral organizations like individual donor countries.

Table 2: Where do the foreign aid mostly come from?

The findings show that, largely, Nigeria receives significant amount of foreign aid from multilateral sources, but the disbursement to the hospital administration might be stifled. This percentage result presentation is used to contrast the government reported aid to the level the hospital is awarded the aid.

Table 3 What is the degree to which your hospital receives foreign aid?

On the question of whether respondents think their country deserves more or less foreign aid, the respondents agreed that, their country deserves more foreign aid. 74% of the respondents agreed that Nigeria need more foreign aid to support hospital operations, through the purchase of advanced medical infrastructures, medications, and other services necessary to increase health outcomes of patients, and the primary health care centres.

Table 4. Do you think your country deserves more or less foreign aid?

The effectiveness of foreign aid in addressing the health challenges in Nigeria

On the percentage of foreign aid, that goes to the health sector, majority of the respondents said, of the total number of foreign aid received by hospitals, primary health centres, and clinics could be about 20-30%. In all, approximately 72% of the respondents agreed that only about 20-30% of foreign aid received by Nigeria Government is disbursed to the health sector.

Table 5 What percentage of foreign aid goes to the health sector?

On whether the foreign aid received by Nigeria is enough or not, the respondents asserted that, the foreign aid Nigeria receive, as a country is not enough. This is illustrated by the fact that, approximately 76% of the respondents said the amount foreign received by Nigeria is not enough considering the economic challenges facing Nigeria.

Table 6: Would you say the amount of foreign aid dedicated to the health sector is enough?

The effectiveness of the foreign aid received in Nigeria is considered as not effective as majority respondents representing 52% said the use of the foreign aid received by Nigeria is not effective.

Table 7: How would you describe the effectiveness of foreign aid dedicated to the health sector of your country

The relationship between foreign aid and health outcomes  

On whether there is a relationship between foreign aid and outcomes, majority of the respondents representing 66% agreed that, there exist a relationship between foreign aid and health outcomes. The case in hand (Lagos State Teaching Hospital Report, 2021) showed numerous deaths linked to lack of equipment for clinical services, therapeutics, and medication. The lack of these equipment is due to lack of funding this State hospital and other State hospitals across the country. Deaths relating to health issues such as Malaria, Cholera, maternal deaths, that can be avoided becomes an impediment that leads to death.

Table 8: Do you think foreign aid has anything to do with health outcomes?

On the extent to which foreign has influenced health outcomes, the result shows that to a large extent, foreign aid has not effectively affected positive health outcomes in Nigeria. 74% of the respondents believe that the inflows of foreign aid to Nigeria has not significantly influenced the health outcomes in then hospital, which is a benchmark for the country. To some, 12% of the population sample believes the foreign aids have afforded certain basic health kits to treat a fraction of patients in the hospital, while local budgets supplements for the rest of hospital activities.

Table 9: To what extent do you think foreign aid has influenced health outcomes?

On the specific area of health that foreign aid has influenced, the results demonstrates that, the foreign aid received by Nigeria has mostly influenced maternal health. The result suggests that, 70% of the respondents said most of the foreign aid sent to the health sector have influenced maternal health as most of the aid has been used to address issues in maternal mortality.

Table 10 In your opinion, what health outcomes has foreign aid has been able to achieve

On the overall relationship between foreign aid and health outcomes, the results indicates that, the influx of foreign aid to Nigeria has been positive in addressing health challenges. The result show that, majority of the respondents representing 58% agreed that, the inflow of foreign aid to Nigeria has been very positive to the health sector.

Table 11 The relationship between foreign aid and health outcomes in your country

This study aimed at examining the impact of foreign aid on the health sector at Lagos State Teaching Hospital. On the level of foreign aid to Nigeria, the study demonstrated indicates Nigeria have been receiving foreign aid for decades now and most of the foreign aid they received comes from multi-national institutions like the World Bank and the IMF and in addition, most of the foreign aid received by Nigeria comes from bilateral organizations like individual donor countries. The study also demonstrated that, largely, Nigeria receives significant amount of foreign aid from multilateral sources. This finding is consistent with Baliamoune-Lutz (2016) who indicated that, in 2007, the G8 countries promised to increase multi-lateral aid by $ 50 billion by 2010 with 50% of the aid going to Africa. The findings also demonstrated that, despite the huge foreign aid received by Nigeria, the country still deserves more foreign aid.

On the effectiveness of foreign aid in addressing the health challenges of Nigeria, the study made a number of revelations. Firstly, the findings demonstrated that, of the total amount of foreign aid received by Nigeria, only 20-30% is dedicated to the health sector. The findings also show that, the foreign aid Nigeria receive, as a country is not enough considering the economic challenges facing Nigeria. This finding is not consistent with Baliamoune-Lutz (2016) who indicated that, in 2007, the G8 countries promised to increase multi-lateral aid by $ 50 billion by 2010 with 50% of the aid going to Africa. The findings also suggested that, the effectiveness of the foreign aid received in Nigeria is considered as not effective. This finding is inconsistent with Toseef, Jensen and Tarraf (2020) who argued that, foreign aid is “dead” because despite the fact that several billions of dollars have been transferred to developing countries to improve the health condition in the society, the result has been disastrous as the foreign aid has rather worsens people health conditions and poverty levels.

On the relationship between foreign aid and health outcomes in Nigeria, the study revealed that, there exist a relationship between foreign aid and health outcomes. This finding is consistent with Rahman, Khanam and Rahman, (2018) who argued that foreign aid has a positive effect on solving development problems, especially in developing countries. The findings also points to the fact that, this is largely not experienced in Nigeria.

Largely, foreign aid has affected health outcomes in Nigeria. Kalifa (2017) found that increased government spending on health had a greater impact on reducing maternal and child health education and infrastructure development supports this finding. The findings further demonstrated that, the foreign aid received by Nigeria has mostly influenced maternal health. This finding is contrasted with Bedir (2016) who found that foreign aid has a significant impact on child mortality.

On the overall relationship between foreign aid and health outcomes, the study demonstrated that, the influx of foreign aid to Nigeria has been positive in addressing health challenges. Rahman, Khanam & Rahman (2018) found a relatively positive relationship between maternal and child health and ODA (Rahman, Khanam & Rahman, 2018).

Context and Suitability

The results of the present study a very complex situation when it comes to the foreign aid received by Nigeria and how it has affected in the health sector of the country. For instance, while Nigeria receives substantial amounts of foreign, aid, it is still not considered enough considering the economic challenges of the country. Again, despite the huge amounts of foreign aid received by Nigeria, only 20-30% is allocated for the health sector. Not withstanding, this percentage, the foreign aid received by Nigeria appears to have made some positive affect the health sector especially improvements in maternal health.

Limitations of the Study

The author faced a number of challenges in the course of the study especially during the distribution and collection of the questionnaires. Firstly, the tight schedules of the employees of the Lagos State teaching hospital made it difficult in reaching participants to deliver and collect questionnaires. The researcher therefore visited the hospital several times and waited for several hours to distribute and collect a questionnaire.

Based on the results, the study concludes that, Nigeria have received substantial amount of foreign aid and yet these amount of foreign aid is still considered to be low given the huge healthcare issues in Nigeria. The paper also concludes that, the foreign aid received by Nigeria have been largely ineffective in addressing the health issues Nigeria. The study finally concludes that, largely, foreign aid has had a positive impact on the health outcomes in Nigeria. The study recommends that, future studies should expand the scope of the research by focusing on the effect of foreign on the entire West African Sub-region.

REFERENCE LIST

• Ayilegbe, B. (2020). Electronic health records use and human capital development on service delivery by health information management professionals in government teaching hospitals in Nigeria (Thesis). Information Resource Management, Babcock University, Ilisan, Ogun-State, Nigeria
• Baliamoune-Lutz, M. (2016). The effectiveness of foreign aid to women’s equality organisations in the MENA. J. Int. Dev., 28, pp. 320–341.
• Bein, M. A., Unlucan, D., Olowu, G., & Kalifa, W. (2017). Healthcare spending and health outcomes: Evidence from selected East African countries. African Health Sciences, 17(1), 247. doi:10.4314/ahs.v17i1.30
• Barkat, K., Mrabet, Z., & Alsamara, M. (2016). Does Official Development Assistance for health from developed countries displace government health expenditure in Sub-Saharan countries? Economics Bulletin, 36 (3), 1616-1635.
• Bedir, S. (2016). Healthcare Expenditure and Economic Growth in Developing
• Bitzer, J., & Gören, E. (2018). Foreign aid and subnational development: A grid cellanalysis 407 (18). Oldenburg Discussion Papers in Economics.
• Eger, J., Öhler, H., & Rudolph, A. (2018). Is the sectoral aid allocation within countries need-oriented? (Discussion Paper No. 17). Bonn: Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitikg GmbH.
• Hayes, A. F. (2017). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York: The Guilford Press.
• Kind, P. (2018). Measuring health outcomes : The foundation of contemporary healthcare decision-making. Medical Writing, 27 (4), pp.  5-7.
• Lynda P, Leonce N (2018) Does health aid reduce infant and child mortality from diarhea in sub Saharan Africa? Political Institute University of Massachusetts Amherrst Working Paper Series.
• Newman, C.; Page, J.; Rand, J.; Shemeles, A.; Söderbom, M.; Tarp, F. Made in Africa: Learning to Compete in Industry; Brookings Institution Press: Washington, DC, USA, 2016.
• OECD, Net ODA (Indicator). Available online: https://doi.org/10.1787/33346549-En (accessed on 1 26th October 2022).
• Omotola OC (2018) Foreign aid, corruption and socio-economic development in sub-Saharan Africa thesis.
• Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (2021). Creditor Reporting System (CRS). Retrieved May, 2021, from https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=crs1
• Rahman, M. M., Khanam, R., & Rahman, M. (2018). Health care expenditure and health outcome nexus: new evidence from the SAARC-ASEAN region. Globalization and Health, 14 (133),pp.  2-11. doi:10.1186/s12992-018-0430-1
• Strasser, R., Kam, S. M., & Regalado, S. M. (2016). Rural health care access and policy in developing countries. Annual review of public health, 37, pp.  395-412.
• Swain, B.; Supriya Garikipati, R.; Wallentin, F. (2020). Does Foreign Aid Improve Gender Performance in Recipient Countries? J. Int. Dev, 32, pp.  1171–1193.
• Tseng, F. (2020). Changes in Human Well-being in the Final Phase of Conflict: Evidence from Northern Uganda. J. Int. Dev, 32, 1126–1147.
• Toseef, M. U., Jensen, G. A., & Tarraf, W. (2020). How Effective Is Foreign Aid at Improving Health Outcomes in Recipient Countries? Atlantic Economic Journal, 47(4), pp. 429-444. doi:10.1007/s11293-019-09645-2
• Vásquez, I., & McMahon, F. (2020). The Human Freedom Index 2020. Retrieved from https://www.fraserinstitute.org/studies/human-freedom-index-2020
• World Health Organization. (2019). Global Spending on Health: A World in Transition (WHO/HIS/HGF/HF Working Paper No. 19.4). Geneva: World Health Organization.
• United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (2020). “No one is safe, until everyone is”.
• United Nations. (2020). Good health and well-being: Why it matters (Rep.).

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Nigeria and Transnational corporations

The role of transnational corporations (tncs) in relation to industrial development.

A Trans National Corporation (TNC) is a company that has operations (factories, offices, research and development, shops) in more than one country . Many TNCs are large and have well‐known brands. Often TNCs have their headquarters and areas of research, development and product innovation in the country they start in, and manufacturing and factories in other countries (often poorer ones to take advantage of cheaper labour and environmental costs).

Nigeria is attractive to many TNCs because of the large market on offer and lower labour costs. Below is a list of the 20 biggest companies in Nigeria, it shows the impact of foreign TNCs but also that Nigeria has its own home grown massive businesses.

Shell in Nigeria

Shell is a massive TNC that operates in many countries around the world.  Extracting the oil is a primary industry but Shell also refine the oil which is a secondary manufacturing industry and they also sell the finished products which is a tertiary service.  Shell's work in Nigeria produces more than 21% of the country's total petroleum production from more than eighty fields. Shell bring positives and negatives to the country.

Advantages and disadvantages of TNC(s) to the host country

There are many positives and negatives of Trans National Corporations for a country like Nigeria.  TNCs like Shell provide jobs in factories making supplies and in services where the products are available for sale, and they do try to clean up after they accidently damage the environment. TNCs often have charities to help people in the country they work in.  Shell has the Shell foundation to help sustainability and biodiversity and help local communities.  The main advantage is that TNCs can help countries develop by investing money ENCOURAGING DEVELOPMENT . Shell has spent $12 billion in LICs for example.  This also means that TNCs pay tax which can be used by the governments of countries to help their people.  Shell paid £20billion in corporation tax in 2013 for example. Finally, oil refineries like those in Nigeria use lots of local companies to help them run.  This creates a multiplier effect and  TNCs allow the import of new technologies into a country, improving it.

However, sometimes TNCs come in for criticism. Their activities have polluted the environment in the past.  Shell has had many incidents involving oil spills for example. TNCs have been accused of human rights abuse s in the past.  Shell have been accused of crimes against the Ogoni people in the Niger Delta (see case study box).  In addition, employees in LIC’s are working for long hours (e.g. 12+ hours) in poor conditions (in factories known as “Sweat Shops”). Also, employees in LIC’s might be paid much less than employees in HIC’s for doing higher intensity jobs. Some TNCs have even been known to use child labour in their factories. In addition, the jobs in the LIC’s are not secure. They could lose their jobs without warning if company decide to set up somewhere cheaper (as Michelin did in Nigeria). The profits from the production go straight to the headquarters in the HIC . They aren’t reinvested in the LIC. Even in HICs, big TNCs like Amazon and Starbucks have been accused of doing everything they can to limit the amount of tax they pay by playing the system.

CASE STUDY: HUMAN RIGHTS VS. OIL

The Niger Delta contains Ogoniland, home to a community that fought back against Shell.  Shell has extracted $30billion worth of crude oil from the land of the Ogoni people since the 1950s.  Oil revenue makes up 75% of the Nigerian economy and ½ of that comes from Shell.  This has had consequences for the Ogoni people, many of whom live without electricity or running water, who see none of the oil profits and have to live with the poisoning of land and water from pipelines, oil spills and gas fires.

Ken Saro-Wiwa (pictured), organised the locals into the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP) who used non-violent protest methods against the power of Shell.  The protest movement were attacked, killed and mutilated and some people blamed the government for this.  The military Government made their intentions clear and Ken Saro-Wiwa said on May 10 1994 – “This is it.  They (the Nigerian army) are going to arrest us all and execute us.  All for Shell” .  On May 22nd 1994 Ken Saro-Wiwa was arrested on a murder charge, he told the tribunal “I and my colleagues are not the only ones on trial.  Shell is here on trial….The company (Shell) has indeed ducked this particular trial but its day will surely come”.  Despite massive pressure from Germany, France and Australia, Saro-Wiwa was hanged with 8 other protestors in 1995.    John Major (the then UK prime minister) declared it as indefensible. 

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How is Nigeria’s economy changing?

Nigeria’s Economy

Nigeria has the largest economy in Africa and one of the fastest-growing economies in the world. The graph below shows considerable growth in Nigeria’s GDP from 2000 to 2022.

Despite its rapid growth in GPD, Nigeria has a significant inequality gap. Wealth is typically found in the south, in and around Lagos. However, the north is exceptionally poor. Almost half of Nigeria’s population lives on less than US$1 per day.

According to Oxfam in 2017 , “The combined wealth of Nigeria’s five richest men – $29.9 billion – could end extreme poverty at a national level, yet 5 million face hunger. More than 112 million people live in poverty in Nigeria, yet the country’s richest man would have to spend $1 million a day for 42 years to exhaust his fortune.”

How is Nigeria’s industrial sector changing?

The structure of Nigeria’s economy has changed significantly. Its economy has transformed from one mainly based on agriculture to manufacturing and services. Around 52% of Nigeria’s GDP now comes from manufacturing and services.

Mechanisation and rural-urban migration have led to a decline in the number of people employed in agriculture. Manufacturing and services have grown due to Nigeria’s increased political stability. Countries such as China, the USA and South Africa have heavily invested in Nigeria. There has also been considerable growth in the service sector, mainly IT services.

The oil and gas industry has been very important to the Nigerian economy. The discovery of oil in the Niger Delta in the 1950s significantly changed Nigeria’s economy.

Despite the country having the 11th largest oil reserves in the world and accounting for 90% of Nigeria’s international currency coming from oil, inefficiencies at refineries, the large domestic demand for energy and fluctuating prices have created an economic challenge. As a result, oil and gas only contribute around 9% to Nigeria’s GDP. At today’s rate of production and current consumption rates, it has over 200 years of supply left.

The fastest-growing sector in Nigeria is manufacturing. A combination of the cheap and plentiful labour force and its vast market, both within and beyond the country, has led to rapid economic growth.

Does Nigeria have a balanced economy?

Dividing Nigeria’s economy into primary (agriculture and mineral extraction), secondary (manufacturing) and services, it is possible to assess the contribution of each sector to a country’s GDP or employment. The graph below shows changes in Nigeria’s employment structure. Since 1991, there have been significant changes to Nigeria’s industrial structure .

Employment in agriculture has steadily declined due to mechanism (increased use of machinery) and competition from other forms of employment, offering better working conditions and pay. Today, agriculture contributes 22 per cent of Nigeria’s GDP.

The industrial sector now accounts for about 27 per cent of GDP. Nigeria has the fastest-growing industrial sector in Africa, overtaking South Africa.

The service sector now employs 53 per cent of workers and accounts for 50 per cent of the country’s GDP.

As with many NEEs, the economy of Nigeria has changed from one dominated by agriculture to one where the service sector is becoming increasingly important. Although Nigeria has a wide-ranging and largely developed economy, with oil accounting for over 90% of its exports, it cannot be said the country has a balanced economy.

Nigeria’s growing manufacturing sector

Manufacturing involves making new products from raw materials. Historically, Nigeria’s manufacturing industry was hindered by its dependence on exporting raw materials, mainly agricultural produce. Processing was mainly done abroad.

In 2020 Manufacturing accounted for around 27 per cent of Nigeria’s GPD. The sector is growing faster than the oil, gas, telecommunications and agricultural sectors. Goods manufactured in Nigeria include:

• leather items
• soaps and detergents
• processed food

With its rapidly growing home market, cheap labour force and improving infrastructure, the sector is expected to grow and become more diverse.

How is manufacturing affecting economic development?

Economic development has been stimulated by the growth of manufacturing in several ways:

• People have a more secure income through regular paid work, increasing the home market for purchasing products such as electrical appliances, cars, and clothes.
• The growth in manufacturing leads to the multiplier effect , which means other industries develop to supply parts.
• Tax revenue increases, and more people are in formal employment.
• Foreign investment is attracted by a thriving industrial sector, leading to further economic growth.
• Chemical by-products from oil processing have led to the growth of chemical industries.

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The University of Chicago The Law School

Abrams environmental law clinic—significant achievements for 2023-24, protecting our great lakes, rivers, and shorelines.

The Abrams Clinic represents Friends of the Chicago River and the Sierra Club in their efforts to hold Trump Tower in downtown Chicago accountable for withdrawing water illegally from the Chicago River. To cool the building, Trump Tower draws water at high volumes, similar to industrial factories or power plants, but Trump Tower operated for more than a decade without ever conducting the legally required studies to determine the impact of those operations on aquatic life or without installing sufficient equipment to protect aquatic life consistent with federal regulations. After the Clinic sent a notice of intent to sue Trump Tower, the State of Illinois filed its own case in the summer of 2018, and the Clinic moved successfully to intervene in that case. In 2023-24, motions practice and discovery continued. Working with co-counsel at Northwestern University’s Pritzker Law School’s Environmental Advocacy Center, the Clinic moved to amend its complaint to include Trump Tower’s systematic underreporting each month of the volume of water that it intakes from and discharges to the Chicago River. The Clinic and co-counsel addressed Trump Tower’s motion to dismiss some of our clients’ claims, and we filed a motion for summary judgment on our claim that Trump Tower has committed a public nuisance. We also worked closely with our expert, Dr. Peter Henderson, on a supplemental disclosure and on defending an additional deposition of him. In summer 2024, the Clinic is defending its motion for summary judgment and challenging Trump Tower’s own motion for summary judgment. The Clinic is also preparing for trial, which could take place as early as fall 2024.

Since 2016, the Abrams Clinic has worked with the Chicago chapter of the Surfrider Foundation to protect water quality along the Lake Michigan shoreline in northwest Indiana, where its members surf. In April 2017, the U. S. Steel plant in Portage, Indiana, spilled approximately 300 pounds of hexavalent chromium into Lake Michigan. In January 2018, the Abrams Clinic filed a suit on behalf of Surfrider against U. S. Steel, alleging multiple violations of U. S. Steel’s discharge permits; the City of Chicago filed suit shortly after. When the US government and the State of Indiana filed their own, separate case, the Clinic filed extensive comments on the proposed consent decree. In August 2021, the court entered a revised consent decree which included provisions advocated for by Surfrider and the City of Chicago, namely a water sampling project that alerts beachgoers as to Lake Michigan’s water quality conditions, better notifications in case of future spills, and improvements to U. S. Steel’s operations and maintenance plans. In the 2023-24 academic year, the Clinic successfully litigated its claims for attorneys’ fees as a substantially prevailing party. Significantly, the court’s order adopted the “Fitzpatrick matrix,” used by the US Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia to determine appropriate hourly rates for civil litigants, endorsed Chicago legal market rates as the appropriate rates for complex environmental litigation in Northwest Indiana, and allowed for partially reconstructed time records. The Clinic’s work, which has received significant media attention, helped to spawn other litigation to address pollution by other industrial facilities in Northwest Indiana and other enforcement against U. S. Steel by the State of Indiana.

In Winter Quarter 2024, Clinic students worked closely with Dr. John Ikerd, an agricultural economist and emeritus professor at the University of Missouri, to file an amicus brief in Food & Water Watch v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency . In that case pending before the Ninth Circuit, Food & Water Watch argues that US EPA is illegally allowing Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations, more commonly known as factory farms, to pollute waterways significantly more than is allowable under the Clean Water Act. In the brief for Dr. Ikerd and co-amici Austin Frerick, Crawford Stewardship Project, Family Farm Defenders, Farm Aid, Missouri Rural Crisis Center, National Family Farm Coalition, National Sustainable Agriculture Coalition, and Western Organization of Resource Councils, we argued that EPA’s refusal to regulate CAFOs effectively is an unwarranted application of “agricultural exceptionalism” to industrial agriculture and that EPA effectively distorts the animal production market by allowing CAFOs to externalize their pollution costs and diminishing the ability of family farms to compete. Attorneys for the litigants will argue the case in September 2024.

Energy and Climate

Energy justice.

The Abrams Clinic supported grassroots organizations advocating for energy justice in low-income communities and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) communities in Michigan. With the Clinic’s representation, these organizations intervened in cases before the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC), which regulates investor-owned utilities. Students conducted discovery, drafted written testimony, cross-examined utility executives, participated in settlement discussions, and filed briefs for these projects. The Clinic’s representation has elevated the concerns of these community organizations and forced both the utilities and regulators to consider issues of equity to an unprecedented degree. This year, on behalf of Soulardarity (Highland Park, MI), We Want Green, Too (Detroit, MI), and Urban Core Collective (Grand Rapids, MI), Clinic students engaged in eight contested cases before the MPSC against DTE Electric, DTE Gas, and Consumers Energy, as well as provided support for our clients’ advocacy in other non-contested MPSC proceedings.

The Clinic started this past fall with wins in three cases. First, the Clinic’s clients settled with DTE Electric in its Integrated Resource Plan case. The settlement included an agreement to close the second dirtiest coal power plant in Michigan three years early, $30 million from DTE’s shareholders to assist low-income customers in paying their bills, and $8 million from DTE’s shareholders toward a community fund that assists low-income customers with installing energy efficiency improvements, renewable energy, and battery technology. Second, in DTE Electric’s 2023 request for a rate hike (a “rate case”), the Commission required DTE Electric to develop a more robust environmental justice analysis and rejected the Company’s second attempt to waive consumer protections through a proposed electric utility prepayment program with a questionable history of success during its pilot run. The final Commission order and the administrative law judge’s proposal for final decision cited the Clinic’s testimony and briefs. Third, in Consumers Electric’s 2023 rate case, the Commission rejected the Company’s request for a higher ratepayer-funded return on its investments and required the Company to create a process that will enable intervenors to obtain accurate GIS data. The Clinic intends to use this data to map the disparate impact of infrastructure investment in low-income and BIPOC communities.

In the winter, the Clinic filed public comments regarding DTE Electric and Consumers Energy’s “distribution grid plans” (DGP) as well as supported interventions in two additional cases: Consumers Energy’s voluntary green pricing (VGP) case and the Clinic’s first case against the gas utility DTE Gas. Beginning with the DGP comments, the Clinic first addressed Consumers’s 2023 Electric Distribution Infrastructure Investment Plan (EDIIP), which detailed current distribution system health and the utility’s approximately $7 billion capital project planning ($2 billion of which went unaccounted for in the EDIIP) over 2023–2028. The Clinic then commented on DTE Electric’s 2023 DGP, which outlined the utility’s opaque project prioritization and planned more than $9 billion in capital investments and associated maintenance over 2024–2028. The comments targeted four areas of deficiencies in both the EDIIP and DGP: (1) inadequate consideration of distributed energy resources (DERs) as providing grid reliability, resiliency, and energy transition benefits; (2) flawed environmental justice analysis, particularly with respect to the collection of performance metrics and the narrow implementation of the Michigan Environmental Justice Screen Tool; (3) inequitable investment patterns across census tracts, with emphasis on DTE Electric’s skewed prioritization for retaining its old circuits rather than upgrading those circuits; and (4) failing to engage with community feedback.

For the VGP case against Consumers, the Clinic supported the filing of both an initial brief and reply brief requesting that the Commission reject the Company’s flawed proposal for a “community solar” program. In a prior case, the Clinic advocated for the development of a community solar program that would provide low-income, BIPOC communities with access to clean energy. As a result of our efforts, the Commission approved a settlement agreement requiring the Company “to evaluate and provide a strawman recommendation on community solar in its Voluntary Green Pricing Program.” However, the Company’s subsequent proposal in its VGP case violated the Commission’s order because it (1) was not consistent with the applicable law, MCL 460.1061; (2) was not a true community solar program; (3) lacked essential details; (4) failed to compensate subscribers sufficiently; (5) included overpriced and inflexible subscriptions; (6) excessively limited capacity; and (7) failed to provide a clear pathway for certain participants to transition into other VGP programs. For these reasons, the Clinic argued that the Commission should reject the Company’s proposal.

In DTE Gas’s current rate case, the Clinic worked with four witnesses to develop testimony that would rebut DTE Gas’s request for a rate hike on its customers. The testimony advocated for a pathway to a just energy transition that avoids dumping the costs of stranded gas assets on the low-income and BIPOC communities that are likely to be the last to electrify. Instead, the testimony proposed that the gas and electric utilities undertake integrated planning that would prioritize electric infrastructure over gas infrastructure investment to ensure that DTE Gas does not over-invest in gas infrastructure that will be rendered obsolete in the coming decades. The Clinic also worked with one expert witness to develop an analysis of DTE Gas’s unaffordable bills and inequitable shutoff, deposit, and collections practices. Lastly, the Clinic offered testimony on behalf of and from community members who would be directly impacted by the Company’s rate hike and lack of affordable and quality service. Clinic students have spent the summer drafting an approximately one-hundred-page brief making these arguments formally. We expect the Commission’s decision this fall.

Finally, both DTE Electric and Consumers Energy have filed additional requests for rate increases after the conclusion of their respective rate cases filed in 2023. On behalf of our Clients, the Clinic has intervened in these cases, and clinic students have already reviewed thousands of pages of documents and started to develop arguments and strategies to protect low-income and BIPOC communities from the utility’s ceaseless efforts to increase the cost of energy.

Corporate Climate Greenwashing

The Abrams Environmental Law Clinic worked with a leading international nonprofit dedicated to using the law to protect the environment to research corporate climate greenwashing, focusing on consumer protection, green financing, and securities liability. Clinic students spent the year examining an innovative state law, drafted a fifty-page guide to the statute and relevant cases, and examined how the law would apply to a variety of potential cases. Students then presented their findings in a case study and oral presentation to members of ClientEarth, including the organization’s North American head and members of its European team. The project helped identify the strengths and weaknesses of potential new strategies for increasing corporate accountability in the fight against climate change.

Land Contamination, Lead, and Hazardous Waste

The Abrams Clinic continues to represent East Chicago, Indiana, residents who live or lived on or adjacent to the USS Lead Superfund site. This year, the Clinic worked closely with the East Chicago/Calumet Coalition Community Advisory Group (CAG) to advance the CAG’s advocacy beyond the Superfund site and the adjacent Dupont RCRA site. Through multiple forms of advocacy, the clinics challenged the poor performance and permit modification and renewal attempts of Tradebe Treatment and Recycling, LLC (Tradebe), a hazardous waste storage and recycling facility in the community. Clinic students sent letters to US EPA and Indiana Department of Environmental Management officials about how IDEM has failed to assess meaningful penalties against Tradebe for repeated violations of the law and how IDEM has allowed Tradebe to continue to threaten public and worker health and safety by not improving its operations. Students also drafted substantial comments for the CAG on the US EPA’s Lead and Copper Rule improvements, the Suppliers’ Park proposed cleanup, and Sims Metal’s proposed air permit revisions. The Clinic has also continued working with the CAG, environmental experts, and regulators since US EPA awarded $200,000 to the CAG for community air monitoring. The Clinic and its clients also joined comments drafted by other environmental organizations about poor operations and loose regulatory oversight of several industrial facilities in the area.

Endangered Species

The Abrams Clinic represented the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Hoosier Environmental Council (HEC) in litigation regarding the US Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) failure to list the Kirtland’s snake as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. The Kirtland’s snake is a small, secretive, non-venomous snake historically located across the Midwest and the Ohio River Valley. Development and climate change have undermined large portions of the snake’s habitat, and populations are declining. Accordingly, the Clinic sued the Service in the US District Court for the District of Columbia last summer over the Service’s denial of CBD’s request to have the Kirtland’s snake protected. This spring, the Clinic was able to reach a settlement with the Service that requires the Service to reconsider its listing decision for the Kirtland’s snake and to pay attorney fees.

The Clinic also represented CBD in preparation for litigation regarding the Service’s failure to list another species as threatened or endangered. Threats from land development and climate change have devastated this species as well, and the species has already been extirpated from two of the sixteen US states in its range. As such, the Clinic worked this winter and spring to prepare a notice of intent (NOI) to sue the Service. The Team poured over hundreds of FOIA documents and dug into the Service’s supporting documentation to create strong arguments against the Service in the imminent litigation. The Clinic will send the NOI and file a complaint in the next few months.

Students and Faculty

Twenty-four law school students from the classes of 2024 and 2025 participated in the Clinic, performing complex legal research, reviewing documents obtained through discovery, drafting legal research memos and briefs, conferring with clients, conducting cross-examination, participating in settlement conferences, and arguing motions. Students secured nine clerkships, five were heading to private practice after graduation, and two are pursuing public interest work. Sam Heppell joined the Clinic from civil rights private practice, bringing the Clinic to its full complement of three attorneys.