Posts under ‘Friends of the Earth’

1 Mar 2021: Author: Channa Samkalden, Prakken d’Oliveira

Lawyers’ insights on corporate legal accountability: Channa Samkalden, Prakken d’Oliveira, Netherlands

Channa Samkalden reflects on the decision of the Hague Court of Appeals in the lawsuit against Shell in the Netherlands regarding oil pollution in Nigeria.

1.Why is this case important?

The case is important because it was one of the first cases to argue parent company liability – and (as far as I know) it became the first where a parent company duty of care for the activities of a subsidiary abroad was indeed established. Oil pollution in the Niger Delta has been an immense problem for decades – and Shell has never really been held accountable for it. A crucial first step was taken in 2015 when the Court of Appeal of The Hague confirmed the jurisdiction of the Dutch courts and opened the route to justice for the Nigerian farmers and Friends of the Earth. Five years later the court concluded that Shell Nigeria must pay compensation and that Royal Dutch Shell must see to it that a Leak Detection System is installed on the Nigerian pipeline. read more

Parent company owes duty of care in transnational cases – Hague Court of Appea

1 March 2021 by Rosalind English

The Hague Court of Appeal has recently handed down a ruling that is of profound importance to environmental lawyers. It is not only the first case at the appellate level in Europe that has resulted in a victory on the merits for the victims, but also the first case to hold that a parent company was under a duty of care with regard to foreign claimants. I will attempt to summarise one of the judgments in the following paragraphs, but readers would do well to look at the detailed analysis of the case by  Dr Lucas Roorda on the Rights as Usual blog: “Wading through the (polluted) mud: the Hague Court of Appeals rules on Shell in Nigeria”. read more

Farmers win damages in major case against oil giant over ecological damage in the Niger Delta

By Bart H. Meijer

AMSTERDAM, Jan 29 (Reuters) – A Dutch appeals court on Friday held Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary responsible for multiple oil pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta and ordered it to pay unspecified damages to farmers, in a victory for environmentalists.

The case was brought in 2008 by four farmers and environmental group Friends of the Earth, seeking reparations for lost income from contaminated land and waterways in the region, the heart of Nigeria’s oil industry. read more

A Victory for Farmers in a David-and-Goliath Environmental Case

An appeals court said that a small group of farmers in the Niger Delta region whose livelihoods were affected by oil spills in 2006 and 2007 should receive payouts.

By Elian Peltier and Claire Moses: Jan. 29, 2021Updated 11:52 a.m. ET

A Dutch court on Friday ruled that a subsidiary of the giant British-Dutch multinational Royal Dutch Shell was liable for oil spills in the Niger Delta in Nigeria in 2006 and 2007, ordering the company to compensate a small group of residents in the region and to start purifying contaminated waters within weeks. read more

Shell verdict ‘exceeds all expectations’, says Friends of the Earth

Updated Fri, January 29, 2021, 11:05 AM

AMSTERDAM, Jan 29 (Reuters) – The Dutch court verdict on Friday that Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary is responsible for oil spills in the Niger Delta exceeded all expectations, action group Friends of the Earth said.

“This is fantastic news for the environment and people living in developing countries,” said Friends of the Earth’s Netherlands head, Donald Pols. read more

Shell Nigeria is responsible for oil leaks and must pay damages, Dutch appeals court rules

PUBLISHED FRI, JAN 29 20215:56 AM EST UPDATED FRI, JAN 29 20216:20 AM EST

• A Dutch appeals court said the Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell was responsible for oil pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta and ordered it to pay unspecified damages to farmers.
• The case was brought in 2008 by four farmers and environmental group Friends of the Earth, seeking reparations for lost income from contaminated land and waterways in the Niger Delta region.

A Dutch appeals court on Friday said that the Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell was responsible for oil pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta and ordered it to pay unspecified damages to farmers.

The case was brought in 2008 by four farmers and environmental group Friends of the Earth, seeking reparations for lost income from contaminated land and waterways in the Niger Delta region, the heart of Nigeria’s oil industry. read more

Dutch court orders Shell Nigeria to compensate farmers

Jan. 29, 2021 at 12:16 am Updated Jan. 29, 2021 at 4:03 am: By MIKE CORDER: The Associated Press

THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) — In a victory for environmentalists and Nigerians whose land was polluted by oil leaks, a Dutch appeals court ordered energy giant Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary Friday to compensate two farmers for damage to their land caused by leaks in 2004 and 2005.

“Tears of joy here. After 13 years, we’ve won,” the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth tweeted. read more

Dutch appeals court rules Shell Nigeria unit responsible for oil leaks

AMSTERDAM, Jan 29 (Reuters) – A Dutch appeals court on Friday said that the Nigerian subsidiary of Royal Dutch Shell was responsible for oil pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta and ordered it to pay unspecified damages farmers.

The decision went a step further than a 2013 ruling by a lower court, saying that Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary was responsible for multiple cases of oil pollution.

Reporting by Anthony Deutsch; editing by Jason Neely read more

Dutch court rules on Shell Nigeria oil spill case

Sara MAGNIETTE: Updated Fri, 29 January 2021, 2:25 am

A Dutch court will hand down its verdict on Friday in a long-running case pitting oil giant Shell against four Nigerian farmers who accuse it of causing widespread pollution.

After 13 years of legal wrangling, an appeals court in The Hague will rule on the farmers’ demands for the Anglo-Dutch firm to clean up devastating oil spills in three villages in the Niger Delta and pay compensation. read more

Shell case puts spotlight on energy groups’ role in climate change

Anjli Raval in London: 11 Jan 2021

It is five years since the Netherlands lost a court action forcing it to cut its greenhouse gas emissions. It was the first time a government had been compelled by law to take action on climate change and was upheld by an appeals court in 2019, meaning that Dutch authorities have to reduce emissions by 25 per cent compared with 1990 levels. Now the lawyer behind that 2015 case — Roger Cox — has a new target, Royal Dutch Shell… read more

Shell climate lawsuit: Dutch activists push courts for steeper emissions cuts

Companies that make money selling coal, oil and gas could be held more accountable if judges in the Hague order fossil fuel giant Shell to cut its emissions.

Backed by 17,000 Dutch citizens, climate activists are wrestling fossil fuel giant Royal Dutch Shell in court over its responsibility to cut emissions to levels that comply with global treaties.

On the last of four days of hearings in the District Court of the Hague, seven environmental groups led by Friends of the Earth Netherlands pressed the court to force the oil major to commit to the Paris Agreement target of keeping warming to 1.5C. This would mean cutting net carbon emissions by 45% from today’s levels in a decade, the campaigners say, at a time where Shell is still investing heavily in fossil fuels. read more

Shell and environmental activists wrap unusual lawsuit over climate change

Four days of hearings in a unique lawsuit over climate change between Dutch-Anglo oil giant Shell and 17,000 Dutch citizens wrapped up on Thursday.

Milieudefensie, the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth, is leading the case against the Amsterdam-headquartered multinational and demanding the company reduce its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 to reduce the pace of global warming.

The environmental group argues that Shell is violating Dutch liability law by emitting double the amount of carbon dioxide as the country as a whole. Shell contends those emissions don’t come from its headquarters but its subsidies in some 80 countries around the world, and any complaint must be taken up with them directly. read more

Dutch court case claims Shell’s operations violate human rights

By LAURA HURST AND DIEDERIK BAAZIL on 12/17/2020

LONDON (Bloomberg) –Royal Dutch Shell Plc is in court in The Hague for the final hearing in a landmark case that could force it to reduce its carbon footprint.

The case brought by the Dutch arm of Friends of the Earth, Milieudefensie, links the oil major’s stance on climate change with human rights. The ruling will also have implications for Shell’s European peers as pressure mounts on polluting energy companies to step up the fight against global warming. read more

Dutch court is right place to challenge Shell over emissions, say activists

A lawyer acting for Shell, Jan de Bie Leuveling Tjeenk, told the court… “Emissions are caused by Shell’s subsidiaries and by users of Shell’s products.”

By Bart H. Meijer: DECEMBER 03, 2020

AMSTERDAM, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Environmentalists seeking to drive down emissions produced by energy giant Royal Dutch Shell told a Dutch court on Thursday the Netherlands was the right place to hear their case. read more

Shell Oil Accused Of “Climate Wrecking” In Historic Lawsuit

David Vetter: Senior Contributor Energy

Oil giant Shell has been taken to court in the Netherlands by activists who allege the company has knowingly undermined global climate targets.

The groundbreaking case is being brought by an alliance of climate activists and organizations, who claim that Shell’s activities threaten human rights by failing to take carbon-cutting action in alignment with Paris Agreement targets.

The plaintiffs, led by Friends of the Earth Netherlands, known in the country as Milieudefensie, are demanding that the company reduce its greenhouse gas output by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels, which Shell says totaled 70 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions. read more

Shell faces Dutch court as climate change activists demand end to emissions

AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell will face a Dutch court on Tuesday in the first hearing of a case brought on by environmentalist and human rights groups who demand the energy firm cuts its reliance on fossil fuels.

Seven activist groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Netherlands, filed the lawsuit in April last year on behalf of over 17,000 Dutch citizens who demand that Shell cuts its greenhouse gas emissions to zero by 2050. read more