On March 23 a Dutch court ruled that it was impossible to hold the oil company Shell liable for the 1995 trial and execution of Nigerian writer Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight of his fellow Ogoni community leaders. The ‘Ogoni 9’ case has been remembered as a world symbol of oppression against indigenous minorities and the destruction of the environment by big oil companies.
Shell ordered to reduce CO2 emissions in watershed ruling
A Dutch court has ordered Shell to bring its emissions in line with the Paris climate targets. Claimants had argued that Shell had violated human rights by fueling the climate crisis.
Shell was taken to court for fueling dangerous climate change
A landmark judgment in The Hague has ruled that the oil giant Shell and its suppliers must cut emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels, as mandated by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
The court found Shell s current commitment to reduce emissions intensity by 20% by 2030 was insufficient. Claimants had argued the reduction would come too late to meet the Paris target of limiting global heating to 1.5 degree Celsius (2.7 F) by the end of the century.
"This is a turning point in history," said an attorney who noted that the ruling "may also have major consequences for other big polluters." By Jessica
Oil Change International
C: Milieudefensie
It is now twenty six years since the Nigerian activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni were murdered by the Nigerian military for their campaign against the oil giant Shell.
Ken and other others had campaigned against Shell’s endemic pollution of Ogoni and the company’s environmental racism and double standards of operations. They campaigned for clean air and water and self-determination. They paid the ultimate price.
In his powerful, defiant closing speech to the sham military Tribunal just before he was hung, Ken said: “I and my colleagues are not the only ones on trial. Shell is here on trial and it is as well that it is represented by counsel said to be holding a watching brief. The Company has, indeed, ducked this particular trial, but its day will surely come…The crime of the Company’s dirty wars against the Ogoni people will also be punished.”