Shell exposing itself to liability by ignoring court order to reduce emissions: Milieudefensie

Shell knowingly and intentionally fails to carry out the court's ruling to reduce its CO2 emissions, Milieudefensie said. The environmental organization sent a warning letter to the oil company on Monday.

"The judge's verdict is clear and necessary: Shell must stop causing dangerous climate change," said campaign leader Nine de Pater of Milieudefensie. "The board should be aware that it wilfully exposes Shell to potential claims for damages that the company could never pay."

In May last year, the court ruled that Shell must reduce emissions by 45 percent in 2030 compared to 2019. The company had to start reducing emissions immediately. Shell decided to appeal against the ruling. The oil company called it ineffective to tackle climate change by ordering one company and its customers to reduce emissions.

De Pater said he looks forward to the appeal against Shell with confidence. "Evidence that Shell promotes dangerous climate change and thus threatens human lives has only been piling up since the verdict last year," he said. Time is running out to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, the environmental organization stressed in its letter to Shell and its largest shareholders.

Milieudefensie said that Shell invests much more in fossil energy than in sustainable and renewable energy sources. The company also has no plans to reduce emissions in all its sectors. The environmental organization called on the directors to comply with the court's ruling.

In response, Shell said it is studying the letter from Milieudefensie. The company also said that the court gave Shell broad discretion regarding how it can meet the reduction obligation for 2030. "Our strategy and the actions we are taking place us in a good position to meet the court's obligations. This includes making strong progress towards the climate targets, which we believe are aligned with the ambitious targets of the UN Paris Agreement on Climate Change."