Oil Change International
C: Milieudefensie / Friends of the Earth Netherlands
Sometimes the word historic or landmark is overused. But not in this case.
In a legal judgement that will be equally celebrated by climate activists worldwide and feared in Big Oil boardrooms, for the first time in history, a judge has held a corporation liable for causing dangerous climate change. And that company is Shell.
Yesterday, as a result of legal action brought by Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie) together with a staggering 17,000 co-plaintiffs a court in The Hague in the Netherlands ruled that Shell must reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% compared to 2019 levels within 10 years.
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Scientific American
Court Orders Shell to Slash Emissions in Historic Ruling
The Dutch verdict is the first to compel a private company, rather than a government, to curb greenhouse gases
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Donald Pols, director of Dutch environment organization Milieudefensie, outside a court in The Hague after a ruling that Anglo-Dutch multinational Shell must reduce its emissions by 45 percent by 2030. Credit: Remko De Waal
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For the first time in history, a court yesterday ordered a private company, rather than a government, to curb its planet-warming pollution.
Royal Dutch Shell PLC must slash its greenhouse gas emissions 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels, The Hague District Court ruled in a decision that could reverberate around the world.
Analyst says the case probably will not affect USA courts, though.
(Bloomberg) Climate lawyers are gearing up to take on more fossil-fuel companies after a Dutch court ordered Royal Dutch Shell Plc to cut its emissions on the grounds that the oil giant is violating human rights by contributing to global warming.
“We are already supporting other organizations to set up similar cases in their countries,” said Donald Pols, director of environmental group MilieuDefensie, or Friends of the Earth Netherlands, which brought the case against Shell. “This court case and verdict open a whole new approach to climate litigation and because of its success it will be copied by other civil society organizations in the rest of the world.”