We bring Shell, one of the world’s biggest climate polluters, to justice for causing climate change and we WON! The people against Shell was a great victory for climate justice.
On May 26, 2021, The Hague District Court ruled that Shell was responsible for causing dangerous climate change. As a result of a lawsuit brought by Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie) together with 17,000 co-plaintiffs and six other organisations, the court ruled that Shell has to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% within 10 years. This historic ruling has enormous consequences for Shell and other major polluters globally.
Shell has known for years about the seriousness of climate change and the impacts of oil development, and has not only misled the public, but continues to drill for oil. In Nigeria, Shell continues to leave a trail of oil spills, gas flaring, water pollution, human rights violations and destruction in its wake.
Instead of agreeing and taking action to comply with what the court ruled, Shell is wasting time with an appeal.
We only have a few years left if we want to prevent global temperature rises from exceeding 1.5 degrees and prevent the worst impacts of climate change. People around the world are taking steps to reduce emissions, but only 25 fossil fuel companies and state entities are responsible for more than half of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. If they continue to extract fossil fuels, they will lead us towards a climate catastrophe.
Friends of the Earth International, our member groups and allies are taking on these companies in the courts, on the streets and in parliaments around the world. We need binding laws at the national level and a new international treaty to regulate transnational corporations in order to force big business to respect human rights, keep fossil fuels in the ground, and reduce emissions. Together and together we gather the power of the peoples and fight for climate justice.
The people against Shell: key information
- Brief of Defense on Appeal22 October 2022 (in English)
- Court verdict of May 2021 (in Spanish)
- Interview with Donald Pols, director of Milieudefensie, about the victory against ShellMay 2021 (in Spanish)
- Summary of the judicial summons, April 5, 2019 (in Spanish)
- Summons (complete in English, unofficial translation from the original in Dutch), 5 April 2019
- Interview with Roger Cox, lead lawyer in the lawsuit against ShellApril 5, 2019 (in Spanish)
- Shell’s response to the legal letter, May 28, 2018
- Legal letter to Shell, April 4, 2018
In May 2021, Shell filed an appeal against the ruling, the outcome of which is still pending. See the latest news on the case (in English) at el sitio web de Milieudefensie.
