The judges of the District Court of The Hague will rule on 26 May 2021 in the case brought by Milieudefensie against Shell. Thursday was the last session day and the two parties gave their closing arguments. Milieudefensie wants to enforce through the courts that Shell does more to prevent dangerous climate change.
The judges of the District Court of The Hague will rule on 26 May 2021 in the case that Milieudefensie filed against Shell. Thursday was the last day of the session and the two parties gave their closing arguments. Milieudefensie wants to enforce through the courts that Shell does more to prevent dangerous climate change.
Milieudefensie is also conducting the case on behalf of 17,000 citizens and six other organizations, including Greenpeace and Jongeren Milieu Actief. They demand that Shell must reduce its CO2 emissions to such an extent that they are in line with the Paris Climate Agreement. In that agreement, world leaders agreed at the end of 2015 that they will endeavor to limit global warming to 2 degrees and preferably to 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial era.
CO2 retains heat and human actions have increased the amount of greenhouse gas in the atmosphere by almost half. To achieve the climate goals, global emissions must be reduced significantly.
Shell also recognizes the dangers of climate change. The plaintiffs in the case want the court to require the multinational to reduce the emissions it causes by 45 percent by 2030. This applies to the emissions from all activities of the company itself as well as to the emissions resulting from the combustion of the fossil fuels that Shell extracts and sells from the ground.
Shell’s lawyers believe that companies cannot be obliged to achieve climate goals through the courts. That is a matter for the government, they say. Shell also believes that it is a forerunner within the sector in the field of sustainable energy. However, Milieudefensie believes that the company still wants to extract far too much oil and gas in the coming years and is thus “on a collision course” with the international climate objectives. The organization hopes that the lawsuit against Shell can trigger global change.
