Shell, an oil and gas company headquartered in London, England, recently won a landmark appeal in Dutch courts, overturning a previous ruling that mandated a 45% reduction in carbon emissions. This Shell court appeal opposed the one made in 2021, where Friends of the Earth and 17,000 Dutch citizens won their case against Shell, demanding a significant emission cut in line with the Paris Climate Accords. According to the Hague Court of Appeal, Shell lacked a social standard to care to cut emissions by this particular amount. The court recognized the company’s responsibility to limit emissions, although it did not mandate a specific percentage.
The initial decision was historic because it went beyond merely following the law to make a private firm responsible for global climate targets. However, the appeals court noted that Shell is already making efforts to reduce its carbon emissions. Therefore, Shell argued that there isn’t a single universally accepted scientific standard for how much companies should reduce their carbon emissions. Friends of the Earth Netherlands, deeply disappointed, called the decision a major setback for climate justice.
Despite knowing that a final verdict can potentially take years, the group remains determined to take their case to the Supreme Court. Donald Pols from “Friend of the Earth” captured the challenge ahead, saying, “It’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
Shell aims to reduce its product carbon emissions by 15-20% by 2030 and become a net zero company by 2050. The case also centered around whether an unwritten care of duty under Dutch law obliges companies to prevent climate harm. Shell’s legal victory could reshape corporate climate responsibility, with many environmental groups pursuing similar cases globally.
