UK OIL major Shell is this week launching a fightback in the Dutch courts against a 2021 ruling that found the company is causing dangerous climate change.

As a result of action by the Netherlands unit of climate action group Friends of The Earth, a judge ruled that Shell had to reduce its carbon dioxide emissions by 45 per cent within a decade.

This week's case will mark the last chance for Shell to present evidence in response to the 2021 ruling. Lawyers from Clifford Chance acting on behalf of Shell will argue that the finding had no legal basis and should be overturned.

The group will also say that it has begun to implement emissions cuts from the 2021 court order, but that companies do not share the same legal obligations as states to cut emissions.

Milieudefensie, the Dutch Friends of the Earth arm, will draw on findings from groups that have researched the effects of fossil fuel burning on climate change, as well as ratified targets such as the 2-1.5 degrees above industrial levels agreement from the Paris Agreement in 2015.

Roger Cox, lawyer for Milieudefensie, had said that the group was "confident" of the prospects of this appeal. "The scientific basis on which we've founded our claims against Shell has only solidified," he said last week ahead of the hearing.

According to the Financial Times, arguments will be made by both sides between 2 April and 12 April with a judgement expected to come in the second half of this year.

(c) 2024 City A.M., source Newspaper