Oil giant Shell emerged victorious in a landmark climate change case at the Ditch court.
According to CNBC, the Dutch court on Tuesday, November 12, 2024, dismissed a landmark climate change ruling of the Hague court against Shell requiring it to reduce carbon emissions by 45%.
A court in The Hague in 2021 backed a case by Friends of the Earth and 17,000 Dutch citizens asking Shell to reduce its CO2 emissions in line with the Paris Agreement and ordered the oil and gas company to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45% from 2019 levels by 2030.
Following the court ruling, Shell filed an appeal against the decision at the Dutch court, which ruled that the company must cut its emissions, but it cannot specify an exact amount of the cuts.
Moreover, Shell chief executive, Wael Sawan, responded to the decision, saying, “We are pleased with the court's decision, which we believe is the right one for the global energy transition, the Netherlands, and our company. Our target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 remains at the heart of Shell's strategy and is transforming our business.”
“This includes continuing our work to halve emissions from our operations by 2030. We are making good progress in our strategy to deliver more value with less emissions,” he continued.
Meanwhile, Friends of the Earth director in the Netherlands, Donald Pols, who won the case in 2021 against Shell carbon emissions, reacted to the ruling, saying, “This hurt.”
“At the same time, we see that this case has ensured that major polluters are not immune and has further stimulated the debate about their responsibility in combating dangerous climate change. That is why we continue to tackle major polluters, such as Shell.”
To note, Shell won a court ruling at the time when the United Nations 29th climate summit is happening in Azerbaijan.
