Shell shock? Think again.
Dutch Court of Appeal rules that private companies like Shell are legally responsible for dangerous climate change


The Court of Appeal in The Hague dismissed the case brought by Milieudefensie c.s. against Shell. The judgment is disappointing because the Court of Appeal did not award the injunctions sought by Milieudefensie to impose a 45% reduction target on Shell, while the effects of climate change are evident all around us. However, as so often true, the headlines don’t tell the entire story about this case.


The judgment of the Court of Appeal univocally confirms that private companies have a legal responsibility to reduce their impact on climate change. Companies cannot longer point at governments and other international bodies for a solution, but have their own legal duty of care to mitigate their climate impact, irrespective of government intervention.

Key takeaways of the judgment are:


      • private companies have a legal duty of care towards people to protect them from dangerous climate change;
      • protection against dangerous climate change is a human right, which polluting companies like Shell must uphold;
      • polluting companies like Shell have an obligation to reduce their emissions to counter dangerous climate change, even if this does not explicitly follow from legislation;
      • this obligation applies to the company’s own emissions (scopes 1 and 2) and the emissions in its value chain (scope 3);
      • plans for new oil & gas are difficult to reconcile with those duties.


Let's be clear. the court's judgment did not result in a specific reduction target for Shell to reduce its emissions, which is bad news for the fight against climate change. However,  it’s important to emphasise just how much Milieudefensie and its co-plaintiffs have achieved with this case. Companies should take note of the crucial elements in the court’s judgment establishing a duty of care for their contribution to climate change. The judgment clearly requires them to take action and to develop a concrete and effective climate plan that aligns with the goals of the Paris agreement. Continuing with the status quo is simply not an option.
 
It’s time to act, now. 


Read the judgment (EN) here →