The People vs Shell: People & Planet Win

In a landmark moment for climate justice, a court in the Hague has today ruled that Royal Dutch Shell must cut its global carbon emissions by 45% by the end of 2030 compared to its 2019 levels.

The case, which was brought against Shell by Friends of the Earth and over 17,000 co-plaintiffs, has now created a legal precedent for holding oil companies responsible for their role in the Climate Crisis, and opens up the possibility of other fossil fuel companies being subject to similar regulation.

This is a major moment in implementing climate justice and reducing global emissions, with many corporations using the similar loopholes to avoid their emissions reductions responsibility as they do to avoid paying taxes across nations.

The Verdict

Presiding over the case, Judge Larisa Alwin stated that: “The conclusion of the court is that Shell is in danger of violating its obligation to reduce. The court orders Royal Dutch Shell, by means of its corporate policy, to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030 with respect to the level of 2019 for the Shell group and the suppliers and customers of the group.”

This is of critical importance, as it now makes Shell’s corporate policy on reducing its emissions a legal matter, rather than a self-regulating statement of intent that lacks consequences. Judge Alwin stated that Shell’s lack of ambition in its climate policy was “not concrete and is full of conditions…that’s not enough.”

Donald Pols, Director of Friends of the Earth Netherlands, stated: “This is a monumental victory for our planet, for our children and a big leap towards a livable future for everyone.”

What Shell Says

Shell has, of course, declared that it will appeal the court ruling. However, growing pressure from its investors, as well as activists and governments, will mean that further appeals will only damage their already tarnished public reputation.

In a written statement issued after the ruling, Shell reiterated its greenwashing that it was investing “billions of dollars in low-carbon energy” despite the fact that its financial reports from the last four years demonstrate that Shell has invested just 0.1% of its revenue into low-carbon energy.

Despite pledging to spend $6bn on ‘green’ energy projects between 2016 and the end of 2020, as of early 2020 it had only spent $2bn, according to The Guardian.

“Shell has spent just $2bn on ‘green’ energy projects between 2016-2020, while spending $120bn on new fossil fuel projects”

Over this four year period Shell achieved a revenue of $1.4 tn, and invested more than $120bn in developing fossil fuel projects.

Remember too, that ‘low-carbon’ is not renewable energy; it is fuel that still produces harmful emissions that worsen the Climate Crisis.

Why Is This Important?

Key to the ruling was that Shell has known about the damage of carbon emissions and its role in worsening the Climate Crisis for many decades – the Anglo-Dutch company was the ninth biggest polluter in the world between 1988-2015, according to the Carbon Majors database.

This will put a number of other major polluters on alert for similar action.

This ruling is part of a just climate transition, which is crucial to tackling the Climate Crisis in a fair and equal way for all societies around the world.

This is particularly important of those nations in the Global South, who are typically lower income countries which have historically had the lowest carbon footprints, and which are most vulnerable in the face of the Climate Crisis.

We have less than seven years to act on the Climate Crisis and avert its worst-case outcomes. Today’s ruling is a victory, and one worthy of celebration – but we will need more yet.