IER: Dutch Appeals Court Defies Friends of the Earth in Shell Ruling

[Note: This piece is from the brilliant analysts and pros at the Institute for Energy Research, an energy think tank based in Washington, DC.]

Key Takeaways

1

Shell has won a court case before a Dutch appeals court filed by the green group Friends of the Earth that sought to force them to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 45%.

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This is a rare reversal of fortune for oil and gas companies before European and International courts, which are known for their frivolous rulings.

3

The court held that Shell couldn’t be held accountable to an unsupported number for reductions and that it was up to governments to pass laws rather than courts to issue edicts.

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The court also pointed out that if Shell reduced its emissions by selling less energy essential to the world, people would simply buy it somewhere else.

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The UN will also convene one of its many courts to investigate the issue of carbon dioxide emissions later this year.

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No court can enforce a ban on the ingenuity, resourcefulness, and innate desire of humans to improve their lives by securing more energy which after all, is the capacity to do work.

A Dutch appeals court overturned a 2021 ruling that instructed Shell to speed up its efforts to reduce emissions, agreeing with the company that setting specific emission reduction targets is unfeasible for oil and gas firms. The court argued that certain sectors are more challenging to sustainability than others. In the original 2021 ruling, a lower court had ordered Shell to cut its carbon dioxide emissions by 45% by 2030, compared to 2019 levels, citing climate change protection as a human right. This was the first time a company was legally required to align its policies with the Paris Agreement, holding it responsible for its direct emissions and the emissions tied to the fossil fuels it sells. The Dutch Court of Appeals’ decision is seen as a win for the oil and gas industry, as it may influence both current and future legal cases and climate-related obligations imposed on these companies.