Climate campaigners worldwide are celebrating after a Dutch court on Wednesday ordered fossil fuel giant Royal Dutch Shell to cut its carbon emissions 45% by 2030, compared with 2019 levels—a historic ruling that activists hope is just the beginning of holding the oil and gas industry accountable for driving the climate emergency.
“This is a landslide victory for climate justice,” said Sara Shaw of Friends of the Earth International (FOEI). “Our hope is that this verdict will trigger a wave of climate litigation against big polluters to force them to stop extracting and burning fossil fuels. This result is a win for communities in the Global South who face devastating climate impacts now.”
Related Posts
The individual co-plaintiffs and groups—which included ActionAid, Both ENDS, Fossielvrij NL, Greenpeace Netherlands, Jongeren Milieu Actief, and the Waddenvereniging—demanded that Shell’s emissions reduction goals align with the Paris climate agreement, which aims to limit global heating to 1.5°C by 2100.
“The court orders Royal Dutch Shell… to reduce its CO2 output and those of its suppliers and buyers by the end of 2030 by a net of 45% based on 2019 levels,” the court said, according to Agence France-Presse. “Royal Dutch Shell has to implement this decision at once.”
