Dutch climate activists take Shell to court

Climate activists attach a banner to the Shell headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands. Pic/AP

A group of environmental groups backed by thousands of Dutch citizens is launching a civil case on Tuesday against the energy giant Shell, asking a court to order the multinational to commit to reining in its carbon emissions by 45 per cent by the year 2030.

The legal battle led by Milieudefensie, the Dutch arm of Friends of the Earth, is the latest in a string of cases around the world in which activists are using the courts as a venue to fight for action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from governments and companies. A victory for climate activists in a Dutch courtroom could spur even more legal challenges.

"Everybody needs to pitch in if we are to tackle the climate crisis, especially big polluters like Shell," said Nils Mollema of ActionAid Netherlands, another group involved in the case. "What will accelerate the energy transition is effective policy, investment in technology and changing customer behaviour. None of which will be achieved with this court action," Shell said.

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