STORY: Shell has won an appeal against a landmark climate order requiring it to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
The Hague Court of Appeal has rejected a 2021 ruling that Shell must reduce its absolute carbon emissions by 45% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels.
This included emissions caused by the use of its products.
The case was brought before Friends of the Earth Netherlands, known as Milieudefensie.
But presiding judge Carla Joustra said Shell was already on track to meet the required targets for its own emissions.
“Shell has set a specific reduction target for scopes 1 and 2, meaning that its scope 1 and 2 emissions will be reduced by 50% by 2030 compared to 2016. Furthermore, documents provided by Shell that it had already achieved a target of 31% reduction by 2023. Shell is therefore already doing what Milieudefensie asks of it. Milieudefensie’s assertion regarding scopes 1 and 2 is therefore not admissible.
The Dutch court, however, ruled that the oil giant had a responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to protect populations from global warming.
He said Shell was already on track to meet the required targets for its own emissions.
And it’s unclear whether demands to reduce emissions caused by the use of its products will help in the fight against climate change.
The decision coincides with the UN COP29 climate summit in Baku, Azerbaijan.
On the agenda is a continuation of last year’s discussions on moving away from fossil fuels.
Shell CEO Wael Sawan welcomed the move, saying Shell believed it was “the right one for the global energy transition, the Netherlands and our business.”
Milieudefensie said she was disappointed with Shell’s victory and would continue her fight against big polluters.
“This really hits home for me. This should have been the moment for real breakthrough in the fight against dangerous climate change. It didn’t happen today, but the fight against dangerous climate change is a marathon, not a sprint, and the race has only just begun.
