In 2021, a Dutch court ordered the company to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030.
Shell won this Tuesday (12.Nov.2024) an appeal filed in the Dutch Court against a decision by a court in the country, from 2021, which forced it to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 45% by 2030, in relation to 2019 levels. At the time, the sentence was considered historic.
“We are pleased with the court’s decision, which we believe is the right one for the global energy transition, for the Netherlands and for our company”, said Shell CEO Wael Sawan, in (, in English – PDF – 136 kB). “The goal of becoming a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 remains at the heart of Shell’s strategy and is transforming our business”, he stated.
The lawsuit was filed with the District Court of The Hague by , the Dutch arm of the environmental organization , and more than 17,000 co-authors.
This Tuesday (12.nov), the Dutch Court of Appeal ruled that Shell has the “responsibility” to cut its emissions like a major oil company, but that this would not be achieved by imposing a specific legal target.
According to the ruling (in English – PDF – 1 MB), the Court declared that “reasonable to expect oil and gas companies to take into account the negative consequences of a further expansion of fossil fuel supplies for the energy transition”.
In the statement, Shell stated that “a court ruling would not reduce overall customer demand for products such as gasoline and diesel for cars, or for gas for heating and powering homes and businesses”. The company said that actions like the one filed in the Netherlands “do little” for the environment as customers move their business to other countries.
“We believe that smart government policies, along with investment and action across sectors, will drive progress towards the net zero emissions we all want to see”, but no note.
According to Sawan, Shell plans to halve CO2 emissions in its operations by 2030. “We are making good progress on our strategy to deliver more value with fewer emissions”, these.
In (, in English – PDF – 74 kB), the director of Milieudefensie, Donald Pols, stated that the organization will continue the fight against “big polluters” como a Shell.
“This hurts. At the same time, we see that this case has ensured that major polluters are not inviolable and has further fueled debate about their responsibility in combating dangerous climate change.”, he declared.
