In a formal reply in November, Shell denied it was liable. A month earlier the company’s CEO said it had “no choice” but to invest in oil and claimed it was “entirely legitimate” to do so.
Court rules Dutch government has duty to protect citizens’ rights in face of climate change
The Netherlands’ supreme court has upheld a ruling ordering the country’s government to do much more to cut carbon emissions, after a six-year fight for climate justice.
The non-profit Urgenda Foundation, which brought the case, welcomed the “groundbreaking” judgment.
As well as inspiring cases against other national governments, Urgenda’s success has encouraged campaigners to take up legal arms against corporations. In April a group of social and environmental justice groups led by Friends of the Earth Netherlands began the process of suing the oil firm Shell, arguing that its business model threatens international climate goals and endangers human rights.
In a formal reply in November, Shell denied it was liable. A month earlier the company’s CEO said it had “no choice” but to invest in oil and claimed it was “entirely legitimate” to do so.
Nine de Pater, a climate and energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth Netherlands, said the supreme court decision set an important precedent for the Shell case because they used similar legal arguments. “It is a huge decision for all current climate litigation cases,” she said.
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