On 25 April 2022 we send a letter to the board members of Shell. Why did we send this letter to them? And what do we want the board to do? Here you will find answers to the frequently asked questions about our letter.
Shell is required by the court to reduce all of its emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019. For more than 95% of its emissions, Shell doesn't even have a plan to comply with the ruling. Our letter is a warning to the people in charge: you have a legal obligation to change Shell's policies. When Shell acts unlawfully, violating human rights and threatening human lives in the process, executives can't just get away with it.
Friends of the Earth Netherlands’s warning to Shell Board of directors is a consequence of the company rejecting a the Follow This climate resolution at their AGM, which was clear proof that they do not have the intention to change.
With this letter we want to show that the board of Shell should not knowingly ignore the climate case verdict. The livability of our planet is at stake. Drastic action is needed now, and yet Shell continues to threaten human lives through the board's climate policy. And if the board does not change its polluting fossil fuel course, legal action could be started against them personally by climate change victims in the future.
The judge said Shell must immediately start implementing the verdict and reduce its emissions. The appeal is no reason not to start reducing emissions. Shell is already failing in this respect. We have lots of convincing evidence and studies that show Shell's policies are failing to meet the verdict. There is a growing likelihood that we will win the appeal. Indeed, since the verdict, new scientific evidence, political agreements, and climate cases worldwide have been piling up. And if we win, the board has been doing too little to comply with the verdict all this time. Furthermore our letter makes the board specifically aware of this, outlining the evidence why they are failing to carry out the verdict on purpose.
The Shell case is the inspiration for our Climate Plan Campaign against the other 29 corporations, we are already one step ahead. This letter is also a message to the boards of the other 29 companies, because this can also become a reality for them. All companies have a responsibility to protect human rights and prevent dangerous climate change/not to endanger human lives.
With this letter, we draw the attention of Shell's directors to their responsibility to implement the court's verdict. Shell can decide for itself how to carry out the sentence, as long as it implements it. What we are trying to make clear with this letter is that there are consequences for the people in control of not carrying out the sentence.
Yes, but the way to 0 is the most important. Which goals do you put in between? When do you want to have achieved something? You can't keep emitting until 2049 and then suddenly stop everything. We are not doing the climate any good with that. That is why our Climate Case is about what Shell must do before 2030. The verdict instructs Shell to reduce emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019. For 97% of its emissions, Shell does not yet have a plan to reduce emissions and that is not in line with the verdict. And that is a threat to a lot of people in the world.
Ultimately, the board is in control at Shell. The board determines what Shell does or does not do and therefore whether or not it implements the court's ruling. Shareholders also have some influence over Shell's policy, although it is somewhat less. That is why they also received the letter. Directors have the legal responsibility to act in the interest of the company. This interest has two parts, making a profit now and considering the long term viability of the company into the future . By not executing the climate case verdict the board is failing in the latter part: the company’s ongoing success into the future. Because if Shell fails to comply with the verdict, the legal person Shell can be held liable for all the damage that climate change causes by exceeding 1.5 degrees. And those damages are immense, they can never be paid by Shell. And with today's knowledge, the board can avoid that risk.
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