Milieudefensie raised critical questions today at Shell’s Annual General Meeting, just one week after the climate organisation launched a second Climate Case against the company. In London Milieudefensie director Donald Pols stood eye-to-eye with Shell CEO Wael Sawan for the first time.
At the AGM, where there seemed to be more security personnel than shareholders, Pols posed a question about the 700 oil and gas fields Shell still has in the pipeline, which continue to increase emissions. Last week, Milieudefensie launched a new Climate Case against Shell over these new oil and gas fields.
Shell’s board did not respond to the 700 oil and gas projects in the pipeline but stated it would respond to the notice of liability before the deadline. Pols said: “Shell continues to hide behind governments and consumers, while the court clearly ruled in November that Shell has its own responsibility to reduce its emissions.”
Sjoukje van Oosterhout, lead researcher at Milieudefensie, emphasized that Shell’s investments in new oil and gas fields are driving its emissions up in the near future. This means the company is not fulfilling its duty of care and is facing legal risk. Van Oosterhout said: “It was made clear once again today that Shell remains legally vulnerable. We will take their responses into account when formulating the demands in our second Climate Case against Shell.”
In February, Milieudefensie announced it would seek a review by the Supreme Court in its first Climate Case against Shell. This case revolves around the reduction of Shell’s total emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement for the period leading up to 2030. The process is still ongoing and remains of undiminished importance.
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