Shell appeals Dutch ruling on slashing carbon emissions

Energy giant Shell said Tuesday it had filed an appeal against a Dutch ruling to slash by 45 percent its worldwide aggregate carbon emissions by 2030.

Last year, a group of Dutch NGOs won a major district court battle in The Hague against Shell, with a ruling saying the company was contributing to the “dire” effects of climate change.

It was the first time a company had been made to align its policy with the 2015 Paris climate accords.

The Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth followed up in January by saying it was targeting some 30 multinational companies to produce a plan to cut greenhouse emissions in the hope the Shell ruling could set a precedent.

The environmental group had brought the case to court in 2019 alongside six other bodies with backing from more than 17,000 Dutch citizens.

In a statement Tuesday, Shell said “we want to be a leader in the energy transition” but added that it had filed an appeal against the court decision ordering it to slash worldwide aggregate carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030 over its 2019 levels.

It had “set an absolute climate target to halve emissions from our operations by 2030, compared to 2016 levels, on a net basis.

“Shell alone cannot directly influence the energy choices made by its customers. It is for governments to put in place the policies that bring about fundamental changes in the way society consumes energy,” it said.

The firm stated that “recent challenges with energy supply, along with spikes in energy prices, show that to be fair and orderly, the energy transition must focus on more than reducing carbon emissions.”

The legally-binding 2015 Paris agreement saw nearly 200 nations agree to keep global temperatures “well below” 2 Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

cvo/er/cdw/ach