Climate activists won a case against Shell in 2021, when a Dutch court ordered the oil giant to reduce its carbon emissions by 45% by the end of 2030. Three years later, Shell managed to win an appeal against this decision. According to the court, Shell does not have a “social standard of care” to reduce emissions, the BBC reports.
The 2021 ruling is noteworthy because it was the first time a court forced a private company to comply with the 2015 Paris Agreement in addition to Dutch law. However, the appeals court judge said that while Shell has an obligation to reduce emissions, a 45 percent reduction could not be set as there is no generally accepted figure. In a statement, Shell said it plans to reduce the carbon intensity of its products by a relatively meager 15-20% by 2030 compared to a 2016 baseline.
The 2021 regulation will only come into force in the Netherlands. Shell would not be legally obliged to comply with a lower court ruling regarding its activities outside Dutch territory. Now, even this small win is not yet up for discussion.
The activists, who are mostly affiliated with Milieudefensie (the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth), issued a statement vowing to continue the fight against climate change. “Big polluters are powerful. But when we stand together, we the people have the power to change them,” said Donald Pauls, director of Milieudefensie. They are now trying to take the case to the Supreme Court, but it will likely take years to get a final verdict.