Posts under ‘Human Rights’

London museum under fire over climate exhibit sponsored by Shell

“It beggars belief that this iconic British institution has freely chosen to link up with Shell … at such a crucial time,” Bill McGuire, professor emeritus of geophysical and climate hazards at University College London, said in a statement.

By Umberto Bacchi, Thomson Reuters Foundation: APRIL 16, 2021

April 16 (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – London’s Science Museum came under fire on Friday for having oil and gas major Royal Dutch Shell as a sponsor of an upcoming exhibition on climate change, a move described by environmental groups as “out-of-step”. read more

By John Donovan

On 1st April 2021, I sent the email printed below to Royal Dutch Shell PLC Chief Executive Mr Ben van Beurden and to his legal director, Mr Donny Ching.

It contained serious allegations by a credible whistleblower about Shell’s alleged corrupt activities in Iraq in collusion with the Iranian regime.

I invited Shell to comment. Shell chose not to do so.

Shell also had time to obtain a legal injunction to prevent publication.

Shell chose not to do so.

Shell could have requested more time to investigate. read more

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

Oil companies defeat New York City appeal over global warming

By Jonathan Stempel, Sebastien Malo: 3 MIN READ: APRIL 1, 2021/ 2:53 PM

NEW YORK (Reuters) -A federal appeals court on Thursday rejected New York City’s effort to hold five major oil companies liable to help pay the costs of addressing harm caused by global warming.

Ruling in favor of BP Plc, Chevron Corp, ConocoPhillips, Exxon Mobil Corp and Royal Dutch Shell Plc, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions should be addressed under federal law and international treaties. read more

Extracts from a current Shell Energy customer review posted on Trustpilot: “Don’t use this company – Shell Energy Broadband. Their customer service is appalling. If you have any problems or issues they won’t help you. As soon as you’ve signed their contract, that’s it, they are not interested. They got my order wrong and I ended up with the lowest broadband speed and not the ‘plus’ service. The standard broadband is awful”

Featured below are extracts from negative customer reviews about Shell Energy posted in the last few days on Trustpilot. Visit the Shell Energy page on Trustpilot to view all reviews in their entirety, positive and negative (and Shell Energy responses). Watch out for any fake reviews. Note the reoccurring themes in the negative reviews, including difficulty in communicating with the company. This article posted on 28 March 2021. read more

No evidence of NAM criminal intent in Groningen gas scandal, public prosecutor says

MARCH 26, 2021

The public prosecution department said on Friday it had not found evidence that the lives of people living in parts of Groningen hit by subsidence-related earthquakes were actually at risk.

And despite an ‘intensive investigation’ there is no evidence that NAM, the company charged with extracting natural gas from under the province, had acted in a ‘deliberately criminal way’, the department said in a statement. read more

Extracts from Shell Energy customer reviews posted today on Trustpilot: “Completely useless”: “Called Shell to get this resolved and what should have been a 2 week process has so far taken 5 month to sort. Meanwhile, Shell continue to charge an arm and a leg for gas with no way out of the contract…”: “Avoid at all costs”

Featured below are extracts from negative customer reviews about Shell Energy posted over the past 24 hours on Trustpilot. Visit the Shell Energy page on Trustpilot to view all reviews in their entirety, positive and negative (and Shell Energy responses). Watch out for any fake reviews. Note the reoccurring themes in the negative reviews, including difficulty in communicating with the company. This article posted on 23 March 2021. read more

OPINION: UK leads way in holding corporations to account for rights abuses

British court rulings reflect global movement towards greater accountability for multinational corporations

By Oliver Holland and Liberty Bridge, a partner and solicitor at Leigh Day

EXTRACTS

For Zambian farmers, Nigerian fisherman and Bangladeshi shipyard workers, recent judgments from the UK courts have provided clarity that multinational companies can be held accountable for the harm caused to individuals by their operations. Claims that are based on whether a UK company can owe a duty of care to a foreign claimant even where damage has been caused by a third party is a rapidly evolving area of law – there is a global movement towards greater accountability for multinational corporations and these recent judgments show the UK courts are leading the way. read more

Shell says Nigeria Delta oil spill dropped by 40% in 2020

By Reuters Staff: MARCH 11, 2021

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell said on Thursday the volume of crude oil spills caused by sabotage in Nigeria’s oil-rich Delta dropped by 40% in 2020 to 1,400 tonnes.

The total number of major spills caused by theft and sabotage also dropped to 122 incidents in 2020 from 156 incidents the previous year, Shell said in its annual report.

Shell is the operator of Nigeria main onshore oil and gas joint venture SPDC which has struggled for years to contain spills in the Delta caused due to operational incidents, theft and sabotage. read more

Shell publishes Annual Report and Accounts

Royal Dutch Shell plc published its Annual Report and Accounts for the year ended December 31, 2020.

The 2020 Annual Report and Accounts can be downloaded from www.shell.com/annualreport.

In compliance with 9.6.1 of the Listing Rules, on March 11, 2021, a copy of the 2020 Annual Report and Accounts was submitted to the National Storage Mechanism. This document will shortly be available for inspection at https://data.fca.org.uk/#/nsm/nationalstoragemechanism. In compliance with section 5:25m(5) Financial Markets Supervision Act the Annual Report and Accounts was submitted to the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM). The AFM publishes the report in its public register. read more

Even more legal woes for Shell in Nigeria

Hi John Donovan,

Find attached a clear copy of the Petitions filed against Shell to the Nigerian Government by the Consortium of Lawyers for Human Right & Justice and African Centre for Justice & Human Right.

INFORMATION AND PETITIONS SUPPLIED FOR PUBLICATION

NEW DEVELOPMENT/BREAKING NEWS FRESH LEGAL WOES, TENSION HITS SHELL AS CIVIL SOCIETY YOUTH GROUP ASKS COURT FOR ORDER OF MANDAMUS TO COMPEL ATTORNEY GENERAL OF NIGERIA AND EFCC TO INVESTIGATE AND PROSECUTE SHELL FOR STOLEN 16 MILLION BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL read more

Shell Funded Lobbying For Trump’s Pro-Fossil Fuel Financing Looking To Block Banks’ Climate Action

green queen: By Sally Ho Published on Mar 4, 2021 Last updated Mar 3, 2021

Anglo-Dutch global oil and gas giant Shell funded an industry group lobbying to block efforts by U.S. banks to tackle climate change, an investigation has found. Even as the corporation made new sustainability pledges and made net-zero its goal publicly, documents reviewed by nonprofit journalism platform SourceMaterial and HuffPost showed that Shell backed the lobbyists in favour of the controversial federal rule on fossil fuel financing that the Trump administration implemented in its final days. 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

By John Donovan

The BBC recently published an article under the headline: Shell’s legal woes over Nigeria’s oil.

The article listed some of the growing numbers of lawsuits being brought against Shell in multiple legal jurisdictions, all arising from Shell’s deplorable conduct in Nigeria.

The damaging global news coverage reporting on the various court actions seems to have stung Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden into threatening that Shell may pack its corporate bags and pull out of Nigeria. read more

Shell’s Nigerian accounts frozen in oil deal dispute

Nigerian court freezes Shell accounts ahead of Aiteo lawsuit

The lawsuit is latest in a string of legal headaches for the biggest international oil company operating in Nigeria, Africa’s biggest oil exporter.

LAGOS (Reuters) – A federal court in Lagos has issued an injunction barring Royal Dutch Shell’s Nigerian subsidiaries from withdrawing money at 20 local banks until it ringfences potential damages in a lawsuit brought against the oil major by Aiteo Eastern E&P.

Aiteo is seeking about $4 billion in total over alleged problems with the Nembe Creek Trunk Line (NCTL) pipeline it bought from the Anglo-Dutch group in 2015 and over claims Shell undercounted its oil exports. read more