Shell wins appeal in Dutch emissions case

LONDON (ICIS)–The Netherlands court ruling mandating that Shell cut its total carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 has been thrown out, the oil and gas major said on Tuesday.

The original 2021 verdict had mandated that Shell’s emissions reduction targets also apply to its scope 3 emissions, which relate to the CO2 generated by customers downstream of a business from the use of its products.

At the time of the original case, Shell has pledged to cut emissions by 50% compared to 2016 levels by 2030, but that target only referred to scope 1 and 2 emissions.

Th company shifted its tax base to the UK and dropped the “Royal Dutch” from its name shortly after the original verdict.

The Netherlands’ Court of Appeal in the Hague overturned the ruling on Tuesday.

In a written statement on the verdict, the court stated that the decision to overturn the original verdict due to “insufficient consensus in climate science on a specific reduction percentage to which an individual company like Shell should adhere.”

“The court was unable to establish that the social standard of care entails an obligation for Shell to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45%, or some other percentage,” the court added.

The original case was brought by Dutch environmental group Milieudefensie.

The push for Shell to cut scope 3 emissions by 2030 would be unlikely to have a substantial impact on overall national emissions-reduction, the court added.

“Shell could meet that obligation by ceasing to trade in the fuels it purchases from third parties. Other companies would then take over that trade. This would consequently not result in a reduction in CO2 emissions,” the court said.

Shell estimates that by 2023 it had achieved 60% of its target to cut scope 1 and 2 emissions in half by 2030.

Thumbnail image: The Hague Court of Appeal rules on the Shell emissions-reduction case on 12 November (Source: Hollandse Hoogte/Shutterstock)