Milieudefensie asks Supreme Court to order Shell to do more against climate change
Milieudefensie is taking its case against Shell to the Supreme Court. The environmental organization wants the oil and gas giant to cut its CO2 emissions by half by 2030. To everyone’s surprise, the court in The Hague agreed with Milieudefensie’s demand in May 2021, but the appeals court overturned that decision in November.
Milieudefensie thought long and hard about whether to take the case to the highest court, director Donald Pols told NOS. “We had long discussions with our lawyers because you can also lose a lot in a cassation ruling.”
Although it ruled against Milieudefensie, the appeals court agreed with the environmental organization on several points. It agreed that judges can force a company to take climate measures that go further than current legislation and that Shell can do more than it currently plans.
But on the most important point - ordering Shell to do its utmost to halve its and its customers’ emissions by 2030, as the court ruled in 2021 - the appeals court ruled in Shell’s favor. The oil and gas giant swayed the court with the argument that if demand for oil and gas does not decrease, but Shell is forced to supply less, customers would simply switch to a competitor. It also argued that the transition to gas in countries that still use coal for fuel could reduce global CO2 emissions.
The appeals court dismissed Milieudefensie’s claim in its entirety. It told the environmental organization that, in theory, the court could impose a percentage reduction on Shell’s CO2 emissions, but in practice, it is impossible to determine an exact percentage. Milieudefensie has a case but made the wrong demands. It would be better to demand that Shell no longer open any new oil or gas fields, the chairman of the court suggested.
Milieudefensie can’t change its demands for the cassation case but decided to still push through with this lawsuit. “Ultimately, we are asking Shell to reduce its CO2 emissions in line with international climate agreements. That is a requirement for all major polluting companies, starting with Shell,” Pols said.
He added that the Supreme Court ruling creates case law and therefore has an influence on future lawsuits. “The ruling in the Netherlands will therefore have consequences for big companies all over the world.”
Shell isn’t worried about going to the Supreme Court, Frans Everts, CEO of Shell Nederland, said in a response. “We are convinced that we will also be proven right by the Supreme Court.
