The South American nation of Guyana, whose economy has traditionally relied on tourism, agriculture, and fishing, has begun doing business with oil giant ExxonMobil to build a massive offshore oil drilling project along its coast.

The president has argued that the profits could pay for the nation's clean energy transition, while others argue that the nation's traditional economic models, biodiversity, and coastal population are at risk of severe environmental impacts from the project.

Award-winning journalist and podcast producer Amy Westervelt joins the Mongabay Newscast to share details of the situation, which is the focus of the 8th season of her acclaimed podcast series Drilled, and she opines about the power of podcasting and the current state of the global effort to tackle climate change:

• "What a total failure of international climate negotiations that Global South countries [are] in this position of having to use oil money to pay for climate adaptation. That's ridiculous," Westervelt says.

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Related Reading:

• Oil production or carbon neutrality? Why not both, Guyana says
• Guyana's future and challenges in oil: Q&A with filmmaker Shane Thomas McMillan
• Guyana seeks offshore oil wealth in a green economy

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Image: Series artwork for "Drilled" Season 8 by Matt Fleming.