Dutch climate campaigners vow to take Shell to court again

In a letter, Milieudefensie says it wants to stop firm developing new oil and gas projects ‘to curb crisis’

Climate campaigners in the Netherlands have promised to take Shell to court for a second time to force the energy company to stop developing new oil and gas projects.

In a letter to Shell, the Dutch climate non-profit Milieudefensie vowed to take legal action because the company has 700 oil and gas projects in development that will continue to drive up carbon emissions despite efforts to slow global heating.

It revealed its plan to return to the Dutch courts six months after the oil company successfully overturned a ruling in favour of the green group that called on Shell to reduce its emissions.

It is currently waiting for a ruling from the Netherlands supreme court on the case in which Milieudefensie argued that Shell should reduce its emissions by 45% in line with the Paris climate agreement.

Donald Pols, the director of Milieudefensie, said the ruling late last year had prompted the group to “pick up the gauntlet and take Shell to court once again”.

Pol said: “At a time in which the climate crisis continues to rage on because of the actions of companies such as Shell, every new oil or gas field is simply one too many.”

The court said at the time that a company could be compelled to take measures to protect the environment that go beyond current legislation. However, it added that demanding a specific percentage reduction in emissions was not realistic.

Instead, the group has called for a ban on Shell’s new oil and gas fields rather than setting an emissions target.

“We simply cannot sit back and wait while Shell continues on its fossil path. Shell remains fully committed to new oil and gas fields, despite warnings from scientists that this will have disastrous consequences. Now is the critical moment to curb the climate crisis,” Pol said.

A spokesperson for Shell confirmed that it had received the letter but stressed that no lawsuit has been filed.

Cover photo:  Milieudefensie’s plan comes six months after Shell successfully overturned a ruling in favour of the green group that called on the firm to cut its emissions. Photograph: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP