Dutch courts says Shell must cut carbon emissions by 45%

Global oil giant Shell lost a landmark Dutch legal case brought by environmental campaigners Wednesday, with the court ruling that the oil company must cut its greenhouse gas emissions more aggressively than it had planned.

The ruling is the first of its kind for global oil firms already under pressure from governments and activists and it will have reverberations in far flung places like Nigeria.

Judge Larisa Alwin of the district court in The Hague said that by 2030 Shell’s net carbon emissions needed to be 45 per cent lower than 2019 levels, a ruling that she added would have “far-reaching consequences” for the Anglo-Dutch company.

The ruling followed a legal campaign led by Milieudefensie, the Dutch wing of Friends of the Earth, and which included thousands of local citizens

Donald Pols, director of Friends of the Earth Netherlands, described the decision as “a monumental victory.” Shell said it would “fully expect to appeal today’s disappointing court decision”.

However, the ruling could set a precedent for similar cases against the world’s biggest corporate polluters who could now face lawsuits and be forced to overhaul their business models.