Eco enthusiasts have vowed to “tackle the big polluters” after oil giant Shell won a landmark climate change lawsuit in the Netherlands today. [emphasis, links added]
Court overturns previous ruling Force Shell to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 45% by 2030.
The so-called “People vs. Shell” case began in 2019, when Dutch Friends of the Earth and six other environmental groups took the case to The Hague.
After court initially sided with green groups, Shell is required to reduce its emissions by 45% from 2019 levels, even including those of its customers.
Court of Appeal ruled “There is not enough consensus in climate science about the specific percentage reductions that individual companies like Shell should abide by.”
Additionally, the judge ruled that without Shell, other companies would absorb its customers, which would result in the same amount of greenhouse gases being produced either way.
“We are pleased with the court's ruling, which we believe is the right thing for the global energy transition, the Netherlands and our company,” Shell CEO Wael Sawan said.
In legal proceedings, the company argued that the state, not the courts, should be the only agency capable of setting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets.
Now, Shell has set itself a target of halving Scope 1 and 2 emissions by the end of this decade – Compared to 2016 – Finally, It will strive to eliminate all emissions by 2050 and achieve net-zero emissions.
Since the original ruling in 2021, Dutch lawmakers have rejected political proposals to set absolute emission reduction targets for the three companies.
Commenting on today’s decision, Donald Pols, Director of Friends of the Earth Netherlands, said:
it hurts.
At the same time, we see this case ensuring that major polluters are not inviolable and further fueling the debate over their responsibility for combating dangerous climate change.
That's why we continue to crack down on big polluters like Shell.
However, Friends of the Earth has not yet commented on whether it will launch the appeal again.
As international leaders argue, the judicial outcome coincides with COP29 being held in Azerbaijan Should fossil fuels feature more prominently on the environment summit agenda?
Speaking at the summit, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared that oil and gas were “a gift from God” and that countries “should not be blamed for owning them” One should not be blamed for bringing these resources to the market because the market needs them.
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