AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Shell’s appeal against an unprecedented court ruling ordering the Anglo-Dutch energy group to drastically reduce its carbon emissions is being heard by a court in The Hague, Netherlands, starting today Tuesday.
In May 2021, the Hague District Court ordered the oil giant to reduce its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, a decision affecting both the group’s emissions and those buyers and users of its products.
This decision, unprecedented and considered capable of setting a precedent, came in a context of growing pressure from investors, activists and governments for large energy companies to turn away from fossil fuels and accelerate their transition. green”.
Shell says it believes the decision lacks legal basis and that companies cannot be held responsible for their customers’ carbon emissions.
In a statement published on its website, the group said it “agrees that the world needs urgent climate action”, but that it has “a different vision of how this goal should be achieved”.
“By focusing on a single company, and only on energy supply rather than energy demand, we believe that the judgment is ineffective and even counterproductive in the fight against climate change,” it is added in the Shell press release.
The Dutch division of the environmental NGO Friends of the Earth, which brought the case to court, expressed its confidence ahead of the appeal trial.
“The scientific data on which we based our complaint against Shell have only become more consolidated,” said the NGO’s lawyer, Roger Cox, adding that he is “certain that we will once again convince the judges that Shell must act in compliance with international environmental agreements.
Shell last month lowered its emissions reduction target for 2030 and withdrew its target for 2035, citing expectations of strong gas demand and uncertainties over the energy transition. He still reaffirmed his plan to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
In the press release published ahead of the hearing, the Anglo-Dutch group said it had “not ignored” the court decision, highlighting the 10 billion to 15 billion dollars of investments in low-carbon energy solutions planned between 2023. and the end of 2025.
The Hague court said it planned four days of hearings. A verdict is expected in the second half of 2024.
(Bart Meijer; French version Jean Terzian)
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