The Guardian: Shell chief vows to bolster emissions strategy after court ruling

Ben van Beurden pledges to ‘rise to challenge’ after court ordered oil firm to cut global carbon emissions by 45%

Joanna Partridge: Wed 9 Jun 2021 18.21 BST

Royal Dutch Shell has vowed to accelerate its strategy towards becoming a net zero emissions business, two weeks after a Dutch court ruling ordered the company to cut its global carbon emissions by 45% by the end of 2030 compared with 2019 levels.

Shell’s chief executive, Ben van Beurden, promised to “rise to the challenge” in helping to create a low-carbon energy system, but came out fighting for the Anglo-Dutch oil company he runs, insisting it has been leading the industry in taking responsibility for its carbon emissions. read more

CNN BUSINESS

Shell CEO: We will cut emissions faster but the world needs to use less oil

By Hanna Ziady, CNN Business: Updated 1220 GMT (2020 HKT) June 10, 2021

London (CNN Business( Shell will cut emissions faster than planned after being ordered to do so by a court in The Hague last month.

In a statement on Wednesday, the oil company’s CEO Ben van Beurden said he was determined “to rise to the challenge.” But he kept open the option of appealing the landmark ruling that he said “singled out” Shell and was “not the answer” to tackling the climate crisis. read more

THE NEW YORK TIMES

Shell says a court ruling on greenhouse gases will speed up its plans to cut emissions.

By Stanley Reed: June 9, 2021

Royal Dutch Shell will respond to a recent defeat in a Dutch court by accelerating its efforts to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions, the company’s leader said Wednesday.

Ben van Beurden, the chief executive of Shell, said that he was “disappointed” by the ruling requiring the oil company, Europe’s largest, to move faster in slashing greenhouse gases, but added that the company was planning to do just that.

“For Shell, this ruling does not mean a change but rather an acceleration of our strategy,” Mr. van Beurden said in an article published on LinkedIn. “We will seek ways to reduce emissions even further in a way that remains purposeful and profitable,” he added. read more

REUTERS

Shell to deepen emission cuts following court ruling, CEO says

By Ron Bousso: 3 MIN READ: JUNE 9, 2021

LONDON (Reuters) – Royal Dutch Shell will seek ways to accelerate its energy transition strategy and deepen carbon emission cuts following a landmark Dutch court ruling last month, CEO Ben van Beurden said on Wednesday, a move that will likely lead to a dramatic shrinking of its oil and gas business.

Shell plans to appeal the May 26 court ruling that ordered it to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels, significantly faster than its current plans. read more

THE GUARDIAN

It’s time to nationalize Shell.

Private oil companies are no longer fit for purpose

By Johanna Bozuwa and Olúfẹ́mi O. Táíwò: Mon 7 June 2021

It has been a bad month for big oil. A Dutch court just ruled that Shell must cut its carbon pollution by 45% by 2030. The court’s decision has rightly been celebrated: it is a much more stringent requirement than the ineffective regulations imposed to date.

Private oil and gas companies are finally up against the wall. Shell has promised to appeal the Dutch court decision, but oil prices went negative last year and put companies on bankruptcy notice… read more

ICIS

Extracts from: Friends of the Earth v Royal Dutch Shell – what did the Dutch Court rule, and what does it mean for Shell’s business?

by Paul Hodges on 6th June 2021 in Oil markets

The Court’s decision
The District Court of The Hague made a landmark ruling on 26 May in the case made collectively by the Dutch Friends of Earth (Milieudefensie) and other NGOs versus Royal Dutch Shell (“Shell” or “RDS”) on the issue of whether Dutch law required Shell to limit its CO2 emissions: read more

THE WALL STREET JOURNAL 

Businesses Brace for More Climate Cases After Ruling on Shell Emissions

By Benoit Faucon, Sarah McFarlane and Laura Kusisto: June 6, 2021 9:04 am ET

A court decision ordering Royal Dutch Shell PLC to cut its carbon emissions has emboldened litigants in similar cases, including two that could have big implications for Exxon Mobil Corp. and French oil giant Total.

Shell’s defeat comes as oil-and-gas companies face growing scrutiny over their emissions from activists, governments and investors, and adds momentum to other climate-related suits where the legal system or arguments are similar, plaintiffs and legal experts said. read more

fd.

Five questions about the meaning of the Shell judgment

It was a statement that shook the so-called BV Netherlands for a while. A stone in the pond. Shell must reduce its CO₂ emissions faster than it does now, the judge ruled a week ago. Five questions about the next steps.

In brief

• Last week, the judge ruled that Shell must reduce its CO₂ emissions more quickly.
• A week after the Shell verdict, there are still many questions.
• There is also much speculation about next steps.

1. Does this ruling affect Shell worldwide?
Shell must reduce CO₂ emissions faster, the judge ruled. The statements apply to the entire group, i.e. worldwide, although there are some exceptions, such as the part of the emissions that falls under the Emission Trade System (ETS) system. read more

The Guardian

Opinion
Fossil fuels
Shell’s historic loss in The Hague is a turning point in the fight against big oil

Tessa Khan

The oil giants that have helped drive the climate crisis are finally being forced to take responsibility for their actions

Tuesday 1 June 2021

On a rainy afternoon in The Hague, the district court delivered a judgment against Royal Dutch Shell, the parent company of the Shell group. It refuted the excuses regularly relied on to continue extracting oil and gas and vindicated longstanding calls to keep fossil fuels in the ground. The court held that Shell’s current policy of merely reducing the “carbon intensity” of its products by 20% by 2030, and aiming to reach net zero by 2050, would contribute to climate impacts that endanger the human rights of the plaintiffs. read more

THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD

‘Wolf pack’ attack win opens the door for more turmoil

June 1, 2021: The success of the activist shareholder assault on the Exxon board last week, along with a court ruling ordering Royal Dutch Shell to cut its carbon emissions faster than planned and a majority of Chevron shareholders voting for a reduction in its “scope three” emissions have been depicted as victories for climate activists.

While the Shell decision clearly fits into that category (although it will appeal) and Chevron probably also squeezes in, the Exxon experience isn’t quite as clear cut and illustrates the confusion and conflict, for companies and investors, that flow from the increasing aggression and impact of environmental, social and governance (ESG) funds. read more

Forbes

Big Oil’s Bad Week

The world’s largest integrated oil and gas companies are the so-called supermajors or more commonly “Big Oil.” In order of descending market capitalization these companies are ExxonMobil XOM -0.3%, Chevron CVX +0.8%, Royal Dutch Shell, TOTAL SE, and BP.

Last week three members of the Big Oil club were each dealt blows regarding the status quo of their businesses.

The Shell Decision

The lawsuit was filed in 2019 by Milieudefensie, the Dutch arm of Friends of the Earth. More than 17,000 Dutch citizens and six environmental groups joined the lawsuit, which argued that Shell’s business practices violated the “unwritten standard of care” that required it to protect Dutch residents. read more

THE WASHINGTON POST

Opinion: A message to oil companies: Change or have change forced upon you

Opinion by the Editorial Board May 29, 2021 at 12:00 p.m. GMT+1

Change is coming, whether the industry likes it or not. 

In Royal Dutch Shell’s case, The Hague District Court declared that the company had contributed substantially to climate change and that its plan to address greenhouse emissions is insufficiently ambitious. Under the court’s order, Shell must ditch its strategy to cut its carbon intensity, which would not necessarily reduce the raw amount of emissions it releases into the atmosphere, and devise a way to nearly halve the emissions for which it is responsible by 2030. The decision could signal follow-on rulings against other big polluters subject to European courts. read more

THE NEW YORK TIMES

A Week of Big Blows for Big Oil

Two victories by environmental activists added to the uncertainty surrounding the industry and Canada’s oil sands.

By Ian Austen: May 29, 2021

For environmentalists, it was a week of victories. For the oil and gas companies they vanquished, as well as Alberta and the other parts of Canada that rely on the energy industry, the week brought new uncertainties.

But environmentalists also dealt a blow to one of those European oil companies, Royal Dutch Shell, this week. A Dutch court ruled that Shell was “obliged” to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions of its activities by 45 percent by the end of 2030, compared with 2019 levels. Shell had already announced a 2050 target for reaching net zero emissions, but the decision, if upheld, will force it to speed up its efforts. read more

fd.

Society takes over control at Shell. What now?

Ben van Beurden was pushed out of Shell’s drivers seat on Wednesday by the judge, who was loudly encouraged by Friends of the Earth Netherlands.

Even within the bastion of the Shell head office on Carel van Bylandtlaan in The Hague, there is dissatisfaction with the own organization. Outgoing chairman of the board Charles Holliday told the last shareholders’ meeting that an employee told him in 2015 that his 13-year-old daughter at school doesn’t tell anyone where her father works. “She’s ashamed of what I do,” the employee told Holliday. It’s the kind of shame that change takes. read more

ad.nl

Will Shell perish under the demands of the judge?

A court that imposes a CO 2 reduction on an oil company by waving human rights and climate change. This has never been seen in the world before. What are the consequences?

Ton Voermans & Peet Vogels 27-05-21, 19:18 Last update: 27-05-21, 19:36

Can Shell meet the requirements?
That will be quite a job. The judge ordered that Shell reduce its own CO ₂ emissions by 45 percent by 2030. This is an obligation and goes further than Shell’s own objective. But experts expect Shell to be able to achieve this. Society has already started using solar power in oil production. And Marjan van Loon, the CEO of Shell Netherlands, is already driving around in a hydrogen car. Others point out that Shell can still reduce methane leaks, methane is a strong greenhouse gas. And Shell can capture and store its own CO ₂ emissions in empty gas fields. read more

REUTERS

Dutch court ruling to lead to Shell’s shrinking -analysts

Ron Bousso: May 27, 2021

A Dutch court ruling ordering Royal Dutch Shell (RDSa.L) to speed up its plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions could lead to a 12% decline in the company’s energy output, including a sharp drop in oil and gas sales, analysts said on Thursday.

FULL ARTICLE (PAYWALL)