Shell has won its appeal against a climate court ruling that it must sharply reduce its carbon emissions.
The oil and gas producer went to the Court of Appeal in the Netherlands following a decision in support of environmental campaign groups in the country, including Friends of the Earth.
That ruling, in 2021, ordered Shell to cut its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels in order to protect Dutch citizens.
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The emissions curbs included those caused by the use of Shell’s products.
The judge in the appeal dismissed all the claims against Shell.
The company, which exited its dual headquarters structure in The Hague in 2022 to reside only in the UK, had argued that the original district court decision was flawed on many grounds.
They included that only nation states can set such sweeping demands and that such a cut to its business would only shift output towards its competitors without any benefit to the planet.
The ruling was handed down as the COP29 climate summit is staged in Azerbaijan, though the judgment is unlikely to be the end of the matter.
The climate groups, which saw the case as a human rights issue, are now expected to bring their own appeal to the Netherlands’ Supreme Court.
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