"Shell wins appeal against order to cut emissions", 12 November 2024.

In a verdict handed down this morning, a Dutch appeals court struck down a 2021 ruling ordering oil and gas giant Shell to cut emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels.

The court agreed with the original verdict that "protection from dangerous climate change is a human right." However, it ruled that while the oil and gas giant has a responsibility to reduce its emissions, Shell has the right to decide how it will make these cuts.

Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie), which initially led the complaint against Shell in 2019, saw some positives, despite its 2021 court win being overturned.

"This hurts," said ... Director of Friends of the Earth Netherlands. "At the same time, we see that this case has ensured that big polluters are not inviolable and has further fueled the debate about their responsibility in countering dangerous climate change. That is why we continue to crack down on big polluters like Shell.”

Shell Chief Executive Officer ... called the decision "the right one for the global energy transition, the Netherlands and our company."

The initial landmark May 2021 court judgment subsequently appealed by Shell — one of the world's largest corporate emitters of fossil fuels — extended to both the company's own emissions and those produced by people when burning its products, like its gas in their cars.  

The court then stated the oil and gas major should follow the "worldwide agreement" that a 45% net reduction in CO2 emissions by 2030 is necessary to meet the Paris target of limiting global heating to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit) to avoid dangerous climate change.

The 2021 first instance ruling was deemed "a turning point in history" because it was the first time a judge "ordered a large polluting corporation to comply with the Paris Climate Agreement," said ..., lawyer for Friends of the Earth Netherlands at the time...

In its appeal to the verdict in the Hague, Shell also said it was being unfairly targeted given that climate change is a global problem. It argued it was taking action to cut emissions and denied it had ignored the ruling...