Shell wins appeal against order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions

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Shell has won an appeal against a landmark order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, with a court recognizing the energy company’s ability to fend off attacks by activists.

The Hague Court of Appeal on Tuesday reversed a district court’s order for Shell in 2021 to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels.

Shell is using the case to bring an inherently political issue to court without voters and legislators in the Netherlands and the European Union fully understanding the idea that individual companies will be forced to reduce their emissions at a fixed pace. It was framed as an attempt by activists to push through.

In a statement on the second day of the United Nations World Climate Summit, the Court of Appeal said: “There is currently insufficient agreement in the field of climate science as to the specific percentage reductions that individual companies like Shell should comply with.” Ta.

It also upheld Shell’s argument that any judgment targeting one company would be invalid because other suppliers would step in to meet fossil fuel demand. But he said energy companies have a duty to “limit their carbon footprint.”

The United Nations body of scientists, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, says that in order to limit global warming to ideally no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, global emissions must rise by the end of 2019 compared to 2019 levels. He said volumes needed to be reduced by 43%. Levels set by the 2015 Paris Agreement.

“This is heartbreaking,” said Donald Polus, CEO of Friends of the Earth Netherlands, which filed the lawsuit. However, “this case has ensured that major polluters are not untouchable and has further fueled the debate about their responsibilities in combating dangerous climate change.”

“We are satisfied with the court’s decision. We believe it is the right decision for the global energy transition, for the Netherlands and for our company,” said Shell CEO Wael Sawan.

Friends of the Earth Netherlands did not say on Tuesday whether it would appeal the ruling, but it is expected to do so and the matter is likely to drag on until at least 2027. You have three months to appeal to the Dutch Supreme Court. A final decision could take around 18 months, or longer if the question is referred to the European Court of Justice, people familiar with the process said.

Activists around the world have filed a series of copycat lawsuits against major polluters, including French energy giant Total, cement company Holcim, and utility company RWE, but the lawsuits have been slow to get off the ground.

The landmark Paris Climate Accord, which President-elect Donald Trump has pledged to withdraw from, is helping to underpin many of the ongoing climate change lawsuits against states and fossil fuel companies, including Shell.

“Our case is antithetical to (President Trump’s) views on society,” Pauls told the Financial Times before the appeal was announced. “We believe that the judiciary has an important role to play when the government fails to act,” he added.

By the end of last year, Shell announced it had reduced its direct emissions by 29% compared to 2019, the Dutch court’s base year. But it has scaled back one of its decarbonization targets for the end of 2010 to address much larger indirect emissions from burning fossil fuels.

Climate change litigators have had success targeting governments, including a landmark 2019 order forcing the Dutch government to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.