Dutch appeals court overturns climate change decision against Shell

HAGUE – A Dutch appeals court on Tuesday overturned a landmark decision. An order was placed with the energy company Shell Stating that “Protection against dangerous climate change is a human right,” it aims to reduce carbon emissions by a net 45% compared to 2019 levels by 2030.

The decision was a defeat for the Dutch arm of the environmental group Friends of the Earth, which hailed the original 2021 decision as a victory for the climate. Tuesday’s legal decision can be appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court.

The decision approving Shell’s objection came as a 12-day UN decision climate conference It was entering its second day in Azerbaijan.

In its written summary of the decision, the court said Shell had a duty of care to limit its emissions, but set aside the lower court’s decision because it “failed to establish that the social standard of care required Shell to have an obligation to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% or some other percentage.”

“There is currently not enough consensus in climate science on a specific percentage of reductions that an individual company like Shell should comply with.”

Chief Justice Carla Joustra said Shell already has climate-warming carbon emissions targets consistent with Friends of the Earth’s demands, both for the products it produces directly and for emissions produced by energy the company buys from others.

The court then ruled: “Shell’s ability to reduce CO2 emissions from buyers of Shell products by a certain percentage would be ineffective in this case. Shell can meet this obligation by ceasing to trade fuels it purchases from third parties. “Then other companies will take over this trade.”

Joustra said: “The court’s final decision is that Friends of Earth’s claims cannot be accepted. Therefore, the court annulled the local court’s decision.”

“This is painful,” said Donald Pols, director of Friends of the Earth in the Netherlands. “At the same time, we see that this case ensures that big polluters are not immune and further fuels the debate about their responsibilities in tackling dangerous climate change.” . That’s why we continue to fight big polluters like Shell.”

The company welcomed the decision.

“We are pleased with the court’s decision, which we believe is the right decision for the global energy transition, the Netherlands and our company,” Shell plc Chief Executive Wael Sawan said in a written statement. “Our ambition to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 remains at the heart of Shell’s strategy and is transforming our business.”

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