AMSTERDAM (Reuters) – The Court of Appeal in The Hague, Netherlands, will rule on Tuesday on Shell’s appeal against an unprecedented court ruling ordering the Anglo-Dutch energy group to drastically reduce its carbon emissions.

In May 2021, the Hague District Court ordered the oil giant to reduce its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, a decision affecting both the group’s emissions and those buyers and users of its products.

This decision, unprecedented and considered capable of setting a precedent, came in a context of growing pressure from investors, activists and governments for large energy companies to turn away from fossil fuels and accelerate their transition. green”.

The Hague Court of Appeal can either uphold or reject the entire decision, or modify it, for example by excluding emissions caused by Shell’s customers.

The company says the move would force it to reduce its activities without any benefit to the fight against climate change, because its customers would simply turn to other suppliers.

Shell also argued earlier this year that courts cannot require companies to reduce emissions, and that only states can do so.

The Dutch division of the environmental NGO Friends of the Earth, which brought the case to court, refers to a recent ruling by the European Court of Human Rights, which states that the change Climate change is a human rights issue.

Whatever the judgment rendered on Tuesday, both parties will still be able to appeal to the Supreme Court of the Netherlands.

The Hague Court of Appeal will deliver its decision on Tuesday at 7 a.m. GMT.

(Reporting Bart Meijer and Ron Bousso; Mathias de Rozario, editing by Kate Entringer)

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