New lawsuit against Shell as oil and gas giant takes step to increase fossil fuel mining

Environmental organization Milieudefensie has filed another lawsuit against Shell. The oil and gas giant told shareholders last year that it intends to continue on the old path of fossil energy by increasing natural gas production and not decreasing oil production. That is contrary to the ruling of the Court of Appeal in The Hague, Milieudefensie said, RTL Nieuws reports.

The court ruled in November 2024 that Shell has an obligation to reduce its emissions and combat dangerous climate change. Increasing fossil fuel mining is not aligned with that. However, the court’s ruling also stated that Shell cannot be forced to take any concrete measures. Milieudefensie appealed against this ruling to the Supreme Court. That hearing is scheduled for May 22.

Shell is one of the biggest polluters on the planet, according to RTL Nieuws. There are only four countries in the world that emit more fossil CO2 than Shell does: the United States, China, India, and Russia. Last year, Shell announced its intentions to produce and sell more gas every year until after 2030. The company also explicitly stated that it does not intend to reduce its production and sale of oil.

Milieudefensie points out that Shell has an interest in 700 untapped oil and gas fields. Drilling the new oil and gas resources will cost tens of billions, and that amount would have to be recouped over the coming decades, the climate group said.

“With this, Shell keeps us dependent on polluting fossil fuels and exacerbates the climate crisis,” Milieudefensie director Donald Pols said. “The high prices at the pump make it clear once again how vulnerable and unsustainable the fossil energy system is. Ordinary people pay the price while major polluters enrich themselves.”

This new case aligns with the previous one, in which the aim was for Shell to reduce its emissions by 45 percent by the end of 2030. Milieudefensie now also wants Shell to set emission targets for 20235, 2040, and 2050. “With its current policy, Shell demonstrates that emissions from its oil and gas production will not be drastically reduced by 2030, as is necessary, but may even increase,” the climate group said.

Shell told RTL Nieuws that Milieudefensie’s lawsuit is “unrealistic, unreasonable, and fundamentally misplaced” for many reasons. According to the fossil fuel giant, Milieudefensie’s insistence to halt drilling of new fields is ignoring “the role that oil and gas will continue to play in the coming decades.” Shell also said that if it doesn’t develop the oil and gas fields, the governments that own the land will simply allocate it to other companies.