Latest news with #Milieudefensie
E&E News
14-05-2025
- Business
- E&E News
Enviros who won historic verdict against Shell target the company again
A Dutch environmental group that saw its landmark climate victory against one of the world's largest oil companies overturned is going back to court. Milieudefensie/Friends of the Earth Netherlands said Tuesday it has notified Shell that it plans a new lawsuit in which it will accuse the company of breaking Dutch law by investing in new oil and gas fields. The suit is also expected to allege that the company is violating its climate obligation by relying on fossil fuels. An appeals court last November handed a legal victory to Shell, overturning a 2021 ruling that required the company to slash its greenhouse gas emissions 45 percent by 2030 from 2019 levels. The court found that although Shell had an obligation to address climate change, the lower court could not force it to take action. Advertisement The new climate case takes aim at what Milieudefensie said are 700 new oil and gas fields that Shell fully or partly owns.
Straits Times
14-05-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Dutch climate group launches new case against Shell
Milieudefensie says Shell is in breach of its legal duty of care under Dutch law by investing in new oil and gas fields. PHOTO: AFP THE HAGUE - Dutch environmental group Milieudefensie said on May 13 it was launching a new legal case against Shell, aiming to stop the fossil fuel giant investing in new oil and gas fields. In November 2024, the Dutch Appeals Court ruled against Milieudefensie and other climate non-governmental organisations (NGOs), quashing a landmark judgement from 2021 that said Shell had to reduce emissions by 45 per cent by 2030. But that appeals court did say Shell had to make an 'appropriate contribution' to the objectives of the Paris climate agreement, without giving the company a clear emissions reduction target. The Paris deal committed all nations to cut carbon emissions to limit warming to well below 2 deg C above pre-industrial levels and encouraged them to aim for 1.5 deg C. In a letter to Shell, Milieudefensie accused the company of being 'in breach of its legal duty of care under Dutch law due to its continued investment in new oil and gas fields.' 'The science is crystal clear. There's a legal momentum,' said Sjoukje van Oosterhout, in charge of the case at Milieudefensie. Shell responded in a statement sent to Agence France-Presse: 'As we have said many times, what Milieudefensie wants will not advance the energy transition.' 'The transition needs collaboration between governments, businesses and consumers,' added the firm, which said it was 'one of the largest private investors in the Dutch energy transition.' Milieudefensie pointed to proposed increases in production and sales of fossil fuels by Shell after 2030, confirmed by the company at its Capital Markets Day in March. 'Shell fully or partly own 700 undeveloped oil and gas assets', said Milieudefensie, citing data and modelling from Rystad Energy, an energy consultancy. 'These assets, if developed, could cause 5.2 billion tonnes of additional CO2 emissions into the atmosphere,' said the NGO, noting this was 36 times the emissions from the Netherlands in 2024. Milieudefensie also wants the court to force Shell to cut emissions to a level compatible with the Paris Agreement's 1.5-degree goal after 2030. The group has appealed to the Supreme Court against the Appeals Court's November ruling but the judgement only takes into account the period up to 2030. In March 2025, Milieudefensie also began a legal case against top bank ING, aiming to force the institution to halve CO2 emissions by 2030. AFP Find out more about climate change and how it could affect you on the ST microsite here.
Business Mayor
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Mayor
Dutch climate campaigners vow to take Shell to court again
Climate campaigners in the Netherlands have promised to take Shell to court for a second time to force the energy company to stop developing new oil and gas projects. In a letter to Shell, the Dutch climate non-profit Milieudefensie vowed to take legal action because the company has 700 oil and gas projects in development that will continue to drive up carbon emissions despite efforts to slow global heating. It revealed its plan to return to the Dutch courts six months after the oil company successfully overturned a ruling in favour of the green group that called on Shell to reduce its emissions. It is currently waiting for a ruling from the Netherlands supreme court on the case in which Milieudefensie argued that Shell should reduce its emissions by 45% in line with the Paris climate agreement. Donald Pols, the director of Milieudefensie, said the ruling late last year had prompted the group to 'pick up the gauntlet and take Shell to court once again'. Pol said: 'At a time in which the climate crisis continues to rage on because of the actions of companies such as Shell, every new oil or gas field is simply one too many.' The court said at the time that a company could be compelled to take measures to protect the environment that go beyond current legislation. However, it added that demanding a specific percentage reduction in emissions was not realistic. Instead, the group has called for a ban on Shell's new oil and gas fields rather than setting an emissions target. Read More Long covid could cost the economy billions every year 'We simply cannot sit back and wait while Shell continues on its fossil path. Shell remains fully committed to new oil and gas fields, despite warnings from scientists that this will have disastrous consequences. Now is the critical moment to curb the climate crisis,' Pol said. A spokesperson for Shell confirmed that it had received the letter but stressed that no lawsuit has been filed. skip past newsletter promotion Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. For more information see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. after newsletter promotion 'As we have said many times, what Milieudefensie wants will not advance the energy transition. As the world continues to use oil and gas to heat homes and to transport goods and people, the transition needs collaboration between governments, businesses and consumers. By working together, with effective government policies, the world can move to low-carbon products and maintain a secure supply of affordable energy,' the spokesperson added. The lawsuit is the latest legal row between Shell and climate campaigners after the oil company settled a $2.1m (£1.6m) lawsuit against Greenpeace after its campaigners boarded an oil rig as part of a peaceful protest last year. Shell in 2023 successfully quashed a lawsuit brought by the environmental law charity ClientEarth when the high court in London refused permission to bring a case against the energy company.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Dutch environmentalists in fresh legal action against Shell
Dutch climate activists have launched a new lawsuit against British oil and gas company Shell to stop the development of new oil and gas fields. ""We demand that Shell immediately stop developing new oil and gas fields," the director of the organization Milieudefensie (Environmental Defence), Donald Pols, said in Amsterdam on Tuesday. The extraction of fossil fuels from new fields would have catastrophic consequences for the climate, Pols said. In an initial lawsuit, the climate activists had demanded a comprehensive reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions and won a historic victory in the first instance in The Hague. However, this was overturned on appeal in 2024. The plaintiffs are now focusing on new gas and oil fields, citing the judges in the appeal proceedings. They had stated that Shell had a special responsibility for protecting the climate and that investments in new fields could potentially violate this. In 2021, civil judges in the first instance ordered Shell to comprehensively reduce its CO2 emissions, including indirect emissions, meaning those of suppliers and customers. However, on appeal, the judges ruled that this was not enforceable. The climate activists appealed to the High Council, the highest court, in February. It is unclear when a ruling will be made. The lawsuit was filed in the Netherlands because Shell also had headquarters in The Hague at the time the lawsuit was filed. The climate case attracted worldwide attention. The company has not yet responded to the new suit. However, Shell was confident after winning the appeal. "We are convinced that we will also be vindicated," Dutch Shell chief executive Frans Evert said.
Time of India
13-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Dutch climate group launches new case against Shell
Representative image (AFP) THE HAGUE: Dutch environmental group Milieudefensie said Tuesday it was launching a new legal case against Shell , aiming to stop the fossil fuel giant investing in new oil and gas fields. In November, the Dutch Appeals Court ruled against Milieudefensie and other climate NGOs, quashing a landmark judgement from 2021 that said Shell had to reduce emissions by 45 percent by 2030. But that appeals court did say Shell had to make an "appropriate contribution" to the objectives of the Paris climate agreement, without giving the firm a clear emissions reduction target. The Paris deal committed all nations to cut carbon emissions to limit warming to two degrees Celsius (3.6 Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial levels and encouraged them to aim for 1.5 degrees. In a letter to Shell, Milieudefensie accused the company of being "in breach of its legal duty of care under Dutch law due to its continued investment in new oil and gas fields." "The science is crystal clear. There's a legal momentum," said Sjoukje van Oosterhout, in charge of the case at Milieudefensie. Shell responded in a statement sent to AFP: "As we have said many times, what Milieudefensie wants will not advance the energy transition." "The transition needs collaboration between governments, businesses and consumers," added the firm, which said it was "one of the largest private investors in the Dutch energy transition." by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like AI guru Andrew Ng recommends: Read These 5 Books And Turn Your Life Around in 2025 Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo Milieudefensie pointed to proposed increases in production and sales of fossil fuels by Shell after 2030, confirmed by the company at its Capital Markets Day in March. "Shell fully or partly own 700 undeveloped oil and gas assets", said Milieudefensie, citing data and modelling from Rystad Energy, an energy consultancy. "These assets, if developed, could cause 5.2 billion tons of additional CO2 emissions into the atmosphere," said the NGO, noting this was 36 times the Dutch emissions in 2024. Milieudefensie also wants the court to force Shell to cut emissions to a level compatible with the Paris Agreement 's 1.5-degree goal after 2030. The group has appealed to the Supreme Court against the Appeals Court November ruling but the judgement only takes into account the period up to 2030. In March, Milieudefensie also began a legal case against top bank ING, aiming to force the institution to halve carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by 2030. sh/ric/giv
