Shell appeals Dutch emissions court order

Oil giant Shell has launched an appeal against a court ruling in The Netherlands that it must accelerate cuts to its global emissions, claiming that it is being singled out and that "coordination" is required to combat climate change.

The company's CEO Ben van Beurden said that the company supported "urgent" action to tackle climate change but that the ruling, which mandated a reduction in the energy group's net emissions of 45% had not taken into account the full extent of Shell's own climate plans.

"A court judgment, against a single company, is not effective," said van Beurden.

"What is needed is clear, ambitious policies that will drive fundamental change across the whole energy system... We will appeal because climate change is a challenge that requires both urgent action and an approach that is global, collaborative and encourages coordination between all parties."

Read more: Shell must cut emissions by 45% by 2030, Netherlands court rules

Shell has committed to becoming net-zero by 2050 and has begun searching for investments in alternative sources of energy, with plans to produce less oil in the longer term.

The company has said that it reached peak emissions in 2018 and peak oil production in 2019. Shell's critics say that it is still a major fossil fuels producer and under its plans will remain so for decades to come.

The Dutch case was brought to court by the country's wing of Friends of the Earth Milieudefensie and other NGOs.

Donald Pols, director of Milieudefensie tweeted earlier this week that Shell should invest "its money and energy in preventing dangerous climate change" instead of appealing the court order. "The longer Shell waits, the more serious the consequences for all of us."

The presiding judge ruled in May that Shell's existing climate strategy was not concrete enough and the company had a human rights obligation to take further action.

Judge Larisa Alwin said that the ruling would have "far-reaching consequences" for Shell but how the company went about executing the order was its decision.

Read more: Shell Vows To Accelerate Energy Transition Following Dutch Court Ruling

Van Beurden said in June that Shell would “rise to the challenge” and that while the court order would not change the group’s strategy, it would lead to “an acceleration” in its plans.

Shell unveiled plans this year to cut the carbon intensity of the fossil fuels it produces and sells by 6% by 2023, 20% by 2030 and 45% by 2035, compared with 2016 levels.

Carbon intensity is a measurement of carbon per megajoule of energy sold, rather than the absolute measure of the amount of carbon emitted that campaigners have long lobbied for.

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