First day of hearing in the appeal: Shell takes its greenwashing into the courtroom

Yesterday concluded the first day of the hearing in Shell’s appeal of our landmark climate lawsuit. Both parties were given the opportunity to present their opening remarks.

Shell continues putting human lives at risk

Shell was the first to present its arguments to the judges. In their opening remarks, it soon became clear that Shell is once again hiding behind the government. Shell argues that it is up to the government to take action against climate change. It is not up to the court to judge, especially since it only concerns one company like Shell. Once again, Shell refuses to take responsibility for 95% of its emissions. Shell continues to put human lives all over the world at risk.

Shell keeps on greenwashing 

Shell continued its greenwashing in court. The company claims to be the biggest investor in the Dutch energy transition. But Shell fails to mention its enormous yearly investments in oil and gas. The facts show that Shell isn’t a green company at all. Shell continues to invest more in gas and has even scaled down its investments in renewable energy last year. Besides, Shell has over 800 new oil and gas fields in the pipeline to be developed.

Director Donald Pols in front of the courthouse in The Hague, the Netherlands.

The court needs to step in

It’s clear that our government is failing to regulate large multinational companies such as Shell. And Shell isn’t going to scale down its supplies of oil and gas on its own. That’s why it’s crucial for the judge to step in. The stakes are simply too high. Like our lawyer Roger Cox said in court:

"Around Florida, we’ve seen water temperatures of 38˚C (100.4˚F); ocean water that’s as hot as a jacuzzi. The South of Europe has seen heat waves of over 40 degrees for days on end, making working outdoors unbearable. In Morocco, the heat climbed to over 50°C for the first time ever. In Canada, 18 million hectares of land burned down, that’s 4.5 times the size of the Netherlands. In Pakistan, 33 million people were struck by floods. And in Bangladesh, 7 million people were affected by monsoon rains.” 
 

Shell needs to take responsibility

If we are to avoid even more dire consequences of climate change, the 2021 climate ruling needs to stand firm. Shell must reduce its emissions by 45% in 2030 (compared to 2019 levels). Milieudefensie Director Donald Pols:

“We’re taking a stand against a company that, if we let it, would be at cost of the world. During the appeal, we are going to convince the court that Shell must take responsibility to prevent dangerous climate change.”

Campaigner Nine de Pater and senior researcher Sjoukje van Oosterhout confer in the courtroom. Photographer: Frank van Beek

What’s next?

The hearings of the appeal are spread across 4 days. On April 3rd, Shell and Mens & Milieu will present their case. On April 4th, it’s our turn to convince the judges that Shell needs to align its policy with the Paris Agreement. On April 12th, the last day of the hearings, all parties will present their closing remarks. You can watch every day of the court hearing through this livestream (in Dutch).

Header photo: lawyers for Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands) take a seat before day 1 of the hearing in Shell’s appeal of the landmark climate ruling.