Shell ordered to slash CO2 emissions more quickly
in landmark court case Business
May 26, 2021
Anglo-Dutch
oil giant Shell must do more to fight climate change and slash its carbon
dioxide emissions more quickly than planned, judges in The Hague said on
Wednesday. ‘Shell must do its part to contribute to the fight against dangerous
climate change,’ the court said. ‘The oil company is required to reduce the
carbon dioxide emitted by the Shell group and its customers by 45% net by the
end of 2030, compared with the level in 2019.’ Milieudefensie, the Dutch branch
of Friends of the Earth, led the case against the The Hague-headquartered
multinational, which was supported by other environmental groups and some
17,000 ordinary citizens. The environmental group argued that Shell is
violating Dutch liability law by emitting two times as much carbon dioxide as
the Netherlands as a whole. Shell argued that these emissions do not come from
its headquarters but its subsidiaries in some 80 countries around the world,
and any complaint must be taken up with them directly. Milieudefensie director
Donald Pols told reporters before hearings started in December 2020 that the
lawsuit was ‘unique’. He claimed that if the environmentalists were successful,
this would be the first court to order a private company to change its business
model to reduce its carbon footprint. Shell had argued that it cannot be held
liable in the Netherlands for events that take place worldwide. ‘The scene of
the crime, in this case, is the location where the emissions take place,’ a
Shell lawyer told the court. Urgenda Activists worldwide are watching the case
closely. Following a 2019 Dutch Supreme Court ruling, known as the Urgenda
decision, the Dutch government was ordered to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
by 25% of 1990 levels by the end of 2020. That ruling found that the Dutch
government was required to meet the conditions of international treaties,
including the Paris climate agreement. In the present case, Shell argued that
because it isn’t a party to such treaties, as they are between nations, it
isn’t obliged to meet their targets. Shell is facing pressure to change its
strategy on several fronts. Earlier this month, some 30% of Shell shareholders
backed a motion by campaign group Follow This at the company’s AGM, calling on
the oil and gas giant to draw up a more ambitious plan to help meet Paris
agreement climate targets.
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