Royal Dutch Shell PLC on
Tuesday confirmed it would
appeal a Dutch court ruling
calling for it to reduce its carbon
emissions at a faster pace,
saying it was being unfairly
singled out.
The energy company said it
was working toward increasing
the scale and speed of its
plans for cutting carbon emissions,
but that the court ruling
didn’t take into account the
commitments it set out earlier
this year to shift away from
fossil fuels toward lower-carbon
energy due to the timing
of the hearings.
The appeal follows a May
ruling by the district court in
The Hague that Shell must reduce
its carbon emissions by
45% by 2030, compared with
2019 levels. Shell said at the
time that it would likely appeal,
a process that could take
around one to two years to be
heard, after which it can further
appeal in the Dutch supreme
court.
The case was brought by
environmental groups that
said the emissions-reduction target was in line with the
United Nations guidance for
member states aimed at preventing
global temperatures
from rising more than 1.5 degrees
Celsius above preindustrial
levels.
The Dutch court’s verdict
punctuated the growing scrutiny
that oil companies are
facing over emissions from
governments, investors and
environmentalists. Pressure
has been mounting in recent
years for oil companies to take
more drastic action to address
the environmental impact of
their activities and products.
Lawyers have said that the
ruling could set a precedent in
making oil companies in other
jurisdictions vulnerable to being
targeted over their carbon
emissions.
“We agree urgent action is
needed and we will accelerate
our transition to net zero,”
said Chief Executive Ben van
Beurden on Tuesday. “But we
will appeal because a court
judgement, against a single
company, is not effective.”
Instead, clear policies and a
coordinated approach are
needed to change the energy
system, Mr. van Beurden
added.
Shell laid out plans earlier
this year to expand its activities
in electricity and biofuels,
and reduce the carbon intensity
of the energy products it
sells by 20% by 2030 and
100% by 2050. Meanwhile the
company expects its oil production
to decline by between
1% and 2% a year.
In the wake of the verdict
Shell said it would accelerate
its plans to cut its emissions.
Those plans include capturing
and storing carbon dioxide
and using renewable electricity
at its sites. The company is
also working with customers
to reduce their emissions.
Shell’s decision to appeal
sends “the wrong signal,” indicating
a lack of commitment
to tackling climate change, according
to Friends of the
Earth’s Dutch arm, which initiated
the case against Shell