On 12 November 2024 Shell won its appeal against a 2021 ruling that required Shell to accelerate carbon reduction efforts in accordance with the provisions of the Paris Convention on Climate Change.

While the Appeal Court did hold that Shell had a responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to protect people from global warming it dismissed the 2021 ruling that ordered
Shell to cut its absolute carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, including those caused by the use of its products.

The Honourable Court of Appeal ruled -

• corporate actors do have a duty of care under Dutch law to contribute to the mitigation of dangerous climate change by reducing their emissions, including as a matter of human rights law. Shell, as a major oil and gas producer, has a “special responsibility” to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions;

• however, Shell does not have an “absolute [emissions] reduction” obligation of 45%, or indeed any other percentage, and under EU law, it will not have such an obligation for the foreseeable future. The existence of EU regulation on climate change, including the EU Emissions Trading Scheme and the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, does not in itself preclude the existence of an independent duty of care under Dutch law to reduce emissions. But that regulation is relevant to determining what actions are required in order for a company to comply with its duty of care in respect of climate change;

3 Diners met for lunch.. A Television producer, an oil executive and a Chief of Police.
What did they Discuss?