Dutch Court of Appeal rules on Shell CO2 Emissions

Other contributor: Jan Buschfeld

On 12 November 2024, a Dutch appeals court ruled that Shell does not have to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, as previously ordered by the Hague District Court on 26 May 2021. Shell now has the right to adjust its own emissions reductions targets as it sees fit. However, the appeals court maintained the District Court’s stance that there exists a private law duty of care which requires, through corporate policy, that companies contribute to the mitigation of dangerous climate change by reducing their emissions. This “unwritten” Dutch duty of care requires that “companies like Shell, which contribute significantly to the climate problem and have it within their power to contribute to combating it, have an obligation to limit CO2 emissions in order to counter dangerous climate change”. Therefore, whilst the appeals court judgment overturned the requirement that Shell reduce its CO2 emissions by 45%, it did not overturn this new duty. Read our full analysis on the Mayer Brown website for more information.

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