Grote vervuilers en de overheid veranderen niet vanzelf. Daar zijn veranderaars voor nodig. Dus kom in actie en doe met ons mee. We kunnen niet wachten.
Milieudefensie | Friends of the Earth Netherlands has been working towards a fair and sustainable world since 1971. Together with people in the Netherlands and beyond we’ve had our share of successes. From river pollution reduction to ending dangerous gas production, to winning courtcases from Shell. It demonstrates that Milieudefensie has an impact on environmental and climate policies and practices.
Milieudefensie has always been at the core of the climate movement in the Netherlands. We organized some of the biggest climate marches and mobilize thousends of people in local groups. With over 230.000 members and supporters and a strong international network we pressure major polluters and push for just and effective climate policies.
After the historic win in 2021, where the judge ruled that Shell needs to reduce its emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreements, in 2024 once more the Court of Appeal confirmed Shells responsibility. The court affirmed that the climate crisis is a threat to human rights and that companies like Shell, that significantly contribute to the crisis, have their own responsibility to protect human rights. Unfortunately the court has not imposed a concrete reduction target. However, this ruling is groundbreaking and a strong base for further litigation, policymaking and campaigns against polluters. The ruling makes it abundantly clear that not just states but also corporations have their duty to protect human rights and reduce their emissions in line with the Paris Climate Agreement.
Links
> Read more about the verdict in 2024
> Read more about our historical win over Shell in 2021
The case against Shell is also successful outside of the court. The case fuelled the discussion about corporate responsibility and the role of fossil fuel companies in the energy transition. It has been discussed by politicians at national and international level. Several human rights authorities commented on and referred to the case. For example the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to food (July 2025) mentions the court case and its importance (pg. 15). Shell and other fossil fuel companies were asked to comment on the case by their share-holders. And the outcomes of the Shell case helped to shape and strengthen court cases al over the world.
After winning the court case in 2021 Nigerian farmers and their communities received 15 million euros in compensation for the oil pollution in their villages. The pollution was caused by leakages in Shell pipelines. A leak detection system should prevent future oil spills. According to Milieudefensie, this court case shows large-scale polluters all over the world that they can not get away with destructive practices.
In 2008 the farmers and fishermen from the villages of Oruma, Goi and Ikot Ada Udo in Nigeria together with Milieudefensie, initiated legal proceedings against the headquarters of Shell in The Hague because of the oil pollution on their land. The court case took over 11 years to come to a historic conclusion. Not only justice for the farmers but also the confirmation that companies can no longer look away from the damage that they cause in the Global South. See also: oil spills Nigeria (2021).
Milieudefensie launched two more climate court cases against major polluters.
In 2022 Milieudefensie and the NewClimate Institute published the first groundbreaking ranking – the Climate Crisis Index - of climate plans of 29 major international companies and financial institutions. To meet the Paris Agreement target, these plans must outline how companies will realize a minimum of 45% CO2 reduction by 2030. The research showed that on average, the companies assessed will achieve no more than 19% CO2 reduction by 2030. Some reacted defensively—slamming the methodology or calling it “comparing apples and oranges.” Others used it as a wake-up call. The Index also served as a precursor to preliminary legal investigations, indicating our intent to possibly bring more lawsuits.
In 2023, three polluting companies publicly presented climate plans that meet our requirements.
In 2023 Milieudefensie published a special edition of the Climate Crisis Index that focused on financial institutions only. Not long after the publication we announced the court case against ING.
For several years Milieudefensie has mobilized hundreds of people to visit the Annual Shareholder Meetings of several Dutch polluting companies. These people were trained by professionals at Milieudefensie on how to confront the board of these companies and ask concrete and impactful questions.
With these questions we were able to force CEOs of these companies to show their true colours and expose their green washing to the other shareholders and present journalists.
Through years of campaigning and lobbying we achieved great success: on May 24, 2024, the European Union introduced the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD). Loosely translated, companies in Europe are no longer allowed to emit greenhouse gases without limits; the law is requiring them to develop and implement climate transition plans aligned with the Paris Climate Agreement. From now on, large companies must demonstrate that they do not harm human rights, the environment, or the climate. And they must report on this annually, as stipulated in another directive, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD). Together, these two directives ensure that companies can no longer avoid it: a better environment starts with themselves.
In May 2024, the European Union’s Critical Raw Materials Act (CRMA) entered into force. Together with the Raw Materials Coalition we provided extensive critical input into the development of this European guideline. And we monitored the implementation of the European guideline at the national level.
> Read more about the Raw Material Coalition
Astra Agro Lestari (AAL( is Indonesia's second-largest palm oil producer. Together with our sister-organizations in Indonesia, the UK and the US, we documented for years the company's abuses; deforestation, environmental pollution and land grabbing. We took the matter to the UN and were successful: the UN Special Rapporteur on Food denounced the devastating practices to the Indonesian government and Astra Agro Lestari.
<<foto van de About Us pagina: Photograph: Inhabitants of Pungkat, a village in Indonesia, oppose the advancing palmoil industrie that threatens their way of live.>>
The Dutch dredging company Van Oord works with Dutch subsidies in Mozambique on a TotalEnergies gas project, amidst ongoing extreme violence. The project was halted, but the company intended to restart it in 2024. Thanks to research by Milieudefensie | FoE NL, published in collaboration with (inter)national partners, numerous parliamentary questions were raised in 2024 about Dutch involvement. This was followed by a motion from members of the Dutch House of Representatives.
Due to our concerned efforts, the gas project did not start in 2024. The work of our Mozambican partner Justica Ambiental was recognized in 2024 with the prestigious Right Livelihood Award (the alternative Nobel Prize).
> Read more about our research
A group of campanies, Astra International, Jardine Matheson Holdings, and Jardine Cycle & Carriage is causing significant damage to forests and the environment in Indonesia. Together with colleagues from WALHI, Friends of the Earth US and Friends of the Earth England, Wales & Northern Ireland, we sent extensive information to Norwegian investor, Norges Bank. The bank's ethics committee conducted its own extensive investigation and concluded that it is irresponsible to continue investing in these harmful companies.
In 2023, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises were revised. Together with OECD Watch, we ensured that Just Transition was included in the guidelines for the first time. In 2024, we monitored further development of this guideline for companies and discussed with the OECD how to formalize it.
> Read more about the guidelines
A milestone: shale gas extraction is now truly a thing of the past in the Netherlands. In July 2019, the Dutch Minister of Economic Affairs and Climate informed shale gas company Cuadrilla that their old permit to drill for shale gas in the Netherlands would never be used again. We are thrilled with this success. Milieudefensie | Friends of the Earth Netherlands, along with people from across the country, campaigned against shale gas for years.
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