The Court of Appeal of The Hague has overturned the District Court of The Hague’s 2021 ruling in the case brought against Shell.
The District Court had ruled that Shell must reduce the worldwide aggregate net carbon emissions it reports across Scopes 1, 2 and 3 by net 45% by the end of 2030, compared with 2019 levels, with a “significant best efforts” obligation for Scopes 2 and 3, and a “results-based” obligation for Scope 1.
“We are pleased with the court’s decision, which we believe is the right one for the global energy transition, the Netherlands and our company,” said Shell CEO Wael Sawan.
“Our target to become a Net Zero emissions energy business by 2050 remains at the heart of Shell’s strategy and is transforming our business. This includes continuing our work to halve emissions from our operations by 2030. We are making good progress in our strategy to deliver more value with less emissions.”
But at a time when emissions are firmly under the spotlight at COP29, the ruling’s timing is significant, further underlining the complexities of setting and sticking to achievable targets.
Shell is investing $10-15bn between 2023 and the end of 2025 in low-carbon energy solutions including charging for electric vehicles, biofuels, renewable power, hydrogen, and carbon capture and storage.
“The past few years have highlighted the critical importance of secure and affordable energy for economies and people’s lives. At the same time, the world must meet growing demand for energy while tackling the urgent challenge of climate change,” Sawan added.
“As Shell has stated previously, a court ruling would not reduce overall customer demand for products such as petrol and diesel for cars, or for gas to heat and power homes and businesses. It would do little to reduce emissions, as customers would take their business elsewhere.”
“We believe that smart policies from governments, along with investment and action across all sectors, will drive the progress towards Net Zero emissions that we all want to see.”
Policy implementation is proving one of the trickiest elements in the whole decarbonisation debate, particularly with a schism forming between rich, developed countries and the global south.
The UK is among the most renewables-active countries, recently pledging £22bn investment for hydrogen and carbon capture.
And yet when asked at COP29 today how decarbonisation initiatives would be funded, UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer – after announcing an 81% greenhouse gases emissions cut by 2035 – was keen to tread the liberal line. “We’re not going to dictate to people how they should live their lives,” he said. The new target is based on the Climate Change Committee’s advice on the UK’s Seventh Carbon Budget, due to be published in February 2025.
The transformation of the global economy needed to achieve Net Zero emissions by 2050 would require $9.2trn in annual average spending on physical assets, $3.5trn more than today, according to McKinsey.
Yesterday, Simon Stiell, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Climate Change Secretariat, stressed the importance of reaching a new global climate finance goal – one of the key targets of the 11-day climate meet.
“If nations can’t build resilience into their supply chains, the entire global economy will be brought to its knees. No country is immune. We must get international carbon markets up and running, by finalising Article 6,” he said.
Read more: COP29 ‘must agree global climate finance goal’
bp, which has a strong presence in Azerbaijan, recently confirmed it stopped 18 early-stage hydrogen projects as it posted its weakest quarterly profit in almost four years.
