Dutch judges have ordered the major oil and gas company, Royal Dutch Shell, to cut 45 per cent of its 2019 carbon dioxide emissions by 2030.
The landmark ruling was confirmed at The Hague Court last week in a huge win for environmentalists, which could set a precedent for similar lawsuits against big oil companies.
Shell has already adopted targets for emissions reduction, but the court’s decision could require the company to quickly accelerate the process of reducing emissions-producing fuels such as oil and gas
Judge Larisa Alwin said the company’s targets are “not concrete and is full of conditions… [it’s] not enough.”
“The conclusion of the court is therefore that Shell is in danger of violating its obligation to reduce emissions.”
Campaigners have repeated the success of a case brought by the green group Urgenda in which the Dutch Supreme Court in 2019 ordered the state to slash emissions by at least 25 percent of 1990 levels by the end of 2020.
