Shell: UK oil giant kicks off fight against emissions ruling in Dutch court
UK oil major Shell is this week launching a fightback in the Dutch courts against a 2021 ruling that found the company is causing dangerous climate change.
As a result of action by the Netherlands unit of climate action group Friends of The Earth, a judge ruled that Shell had to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 45 per cent within a decade.
This week’s case will mark the last chance for Shell to present evidence in response to the 2021 ruling and lawyers from UK firm Clifford Chance acting on behalf of the oil super major will argue that the finding had no legal basis and should be overturned.
The group will also say that it has begun to implement emissions cuts from the 2021 court order, but that companies do not share the same legal obligations as states to cut emissions.
Milieudefensie, the Dutch Friends of the Earth arm, will draw on findings from international groups that have researched the effects of fossil fuel burning on climate change, as well as ratified targets such as the 2-1.5 degrees above industrial levels agreement from the Paris Agreement in 2015.
Roger Cox, lawyer for Milieudefensie, had said that the group was “confident” of the prospects of this appeal.
“The scientific basis on which we’ve founded our claims against Shell has only solidified,” he said last week ahead of the hearing.
At the time of the initial ruling three years ago, Donald Pols, director of Friends of the Earth Netherlands, said the decision was “a monumental victory for our planet, for our children and a big leap towards a liveable future for everyone.”
According to the Financial Times, arguments will be made by both sides between April 2 and April 12, with a judgement expected to come in the second half of this year.
This week’s legal proceedings brings the conversation around Shell’s emissions target back into the public eye, not long removed from the publication of an update to its energy transition strategy last month.
The group came under fire for moving the goalposts on its net carbon intensity reduction targets, opting for a 15-20 per cent reduction instead of the previously stated 20 per cent cut.
Measuring emissions from burning fossil fuels by intensity rather than in measurable emissions means a company can technically increase its fossil fuel output and overall emissions and use offsetting to even the numbers.
The group previously retired a target of reducing its carbon intensity by 45 per cent by 2035.
A Shell spokesperson said: “We agree the world needs urgent climate action and Shell is playing an important role in the energy transition by providing the energy needed today while helping to build the low-carbon energy system of the future.
“Where we have a different view is in how that goal should be achieved and we are appealing the ruling because we do not believe it is the right solution for the energy transition as without changing demand and the way in which customers use energy, this could effectively mean handing over retail and commercial customers to competitors.
“This will not help to reduce global emissions and it is ineffective and even counterproductive to addressing climate change, and there is no legal basis for it under Dutch law.
“We are confident we have a strong case and look forward to the court’s decision in the months following the hearing.”