A Dutch court has ordered that Royal Dutch Shell must reduce its emissions further than it has pledged as it ruled in favour of a case brought to them by activist group Friends of the Earth.
Climate activist group Friends of the Earth have won their case against Shell to force a commitment to stricter climate targets. Credit: Friends of the Earth via Twitter
The court ruled the energy giant must reduce its fossil fuels by as much as 45% on 2019 levels and it was found the company had not set concrete goals, matching similar criticism levied at the company last week.
Read more: Shell faces shareholder pressure to further climate action
This marks the first time a court order has forced a company to reduce its carbon emissions, the activist group claims. The verdict found that Shell was responsible for its own CO2 emissions and those of its suppliers.
The judge warned Shell must act on the ruling immediately, admitting this could stifle "long-term growth" for the oil company, which had planned on relying on traditional fossil fuels until at least 2025.
The case was originally brought against the energy giant in 2019, with Friends of the Earth bringing proceedings forward on behalf of six other companies and more than 17,000 Dutch citizens.
While the ruling only applies in the Netherlands, the group claims it could have consequences elsewhere.
Rachel Kennerly, a campaigner for Friends of the Earth's British division said this marks a historic point in the battle against climate change, stating that the "time for greenwashing is over".
"This ruling confirms what we already knew, that global polluters cannot continue their devastating operations because the costs are too high, and they have been that way for too long," she added.
Climate activists and Shell shareholders have laid criticism at the company for not setting strict enough carbon emissions targets.
However, the company is set to appeal this "disappointing" ruling and said it is committed to stepping up its efforts in backing renewable energy.
A spokesman for the company said in a statement: "Urgent action is needed on climate change which is why we have accelerated our efforts to become a net-zero emissions energy company by 2050, in step with society, with short-term targets to track our progress.
“We are investing billions of dollars in low-carbon energy, including electric vehicle charging, hydrogen, renewables and biofuels. We want to grow demand for these products and scale up our new energy businesses even more quickly.
Read more: Shell pins 2050 date for complete carbon-neutrality
Friends of the Earth Netherlands' lawyer Roger Cox said this ruling could have consequences for the world's other large polluters, marking the first time a court had upheld the Paris Climate Agreement's targets.
Under the terms of the PCA, a collection of leading economies have pledged to prevent global temperatures from rising above 2°C by 2050, with an optional target of keeping them below 1.5°C.
This will require the entire world to be operating at either a carbon-neutral or even carbon negative level by this deadline.
Last week, shareholder activist group Follow This recently offered a resolution to Shell - which was backed by nearly one-third of its shareholders - which called on them to set more rigorous climate goals.
In mid-May, the International Energy Agency (IEA) also called for an end to new oil and gas projects as part of a "radical shift" it says is required to meet the climate goals laid out by the PCA.
Read more: Radical change needed en route to net-zero, IEA warns
Shell had previously pledged to cut carbon emissions by 20% by 2030 - nearly half of what had since been ordered by the court.
The company was also criticised for basing its emissions targets on "carbon intensity," a measurement of energy per megajoule sold, which has laid the groundwork for its short-term goals.
A number of groups around the world are attempting to force fossil fuel giants to set more ambitious climate goals.
Other oil companies, such as BP and Total, have pledged to be completely carbon-neutral by 2050.
NS Energy reported in December 2020 that five major oil companies have set similar targets.
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