Shell win court battle against radical leftist A Dutch court of appeal handed on Tuesday a victory to Shell in a landmark climate case, overturning a lower court ruling that had obliged the supermajor to slash its greenhouse gas emissions.
The Court of Appeal of The Hague on Tuesday overturned the 2021 ruling of the District Court of The Hague, in the case brought against Shell by the environmentalist organization Milieudefensie, other NGOs, and a group of private individuals.
Back in 2021, the District Court in The Hague ordered Shell to slash its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 in a landmark ruling that had the potential to set precedents for other oil companies.
Three years ago, the court ordered Shell to slash net carbon emissions by 45% and start complying with the ruling “immediately.”
These emission reductions would include the so-called Scope 3 emissions, those generated by the use of its producers, per the order of the district court in 2021.
Shell appealed the ruling.
Now the court of appeal accepted Shell’s arguments and overturned the district court’s ruling.
“The court's final judgement is that Milieudefensie's claims cannot be granted. The Appeals Court is therefore quashing the original judgement,” judge Carla Joustra said.
Shell welcomed the appeals court judgment, with CEO Wael Sawan 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.”
Shell has argued that a court ruling would do little to reduce overall customer demand for petroleum products or for natural gas to heat and power homes and businesses.
“It would do little to reduce emissions, as customers would take their business elsewhere,” the company said today.
Milieudefensie expressed shock at Tuesday’s ruling and vowed to keep fighting.
“We are shocked by today’s judgment. It is a setback for us, for the climate movement and for millions of people around the world who worry about their future,” said Donald Pols, Director of Milieudefensie.
“Large polluters are powerful. But united, we as people have the power to change them.”