Dutch climate protestors launch suit against Shell
Climate marchers have handed in a lawsuit to Shell’s headquarters in the Netherlands aimed at forcing the oil giant to meet targets in the Paris accord.
Dozens of chanting activists went to the Anglo-Dutch firm’s base in The Hague on Friday, where they delivered a summons with a court date set for April 17.
Shell greeted the protesters with coffee from an electric drinks van. It said that while it “shares concerns about the climate” it “believes in a solution outside the courtroom.”
“This is a unique case,” said Roger Cox, lawyer for Dutch climate group Milieudefensie. “We are taking Shell to court because it’s not keeping to the aims of the Paris climate agreements. This way, we are trying to prevent huge damage.”
The environmental groups say about 17,200 people have registered as co-complainants in the case, which Cox said would be the first of its kind.
Other groups involved in the case include ActionAid Netherlands, Both Ends, Fossielvrij NL, Greenpeace NL and Young Friends of the Earth NL.
The protesters carried banners with slogans such as “We Shell overcome — eventually” and red posters saying “Shell is as green as this poster.”
They also mounted a giant version of the summons with the signatures of the thousands of plaintiffs at Shell’s headquarters near the city center.
Shell Netherlands CEO Marjan van Loon addressed the protesters outside the building, saying that fighting climate change was a “team sport,” the company said in a Twitter post with a photo.
“I would like to answer every finger, whether it is an index finger or a middle finger, with an outstretched hand,” it quoted her as saying. In a summary of the 250-page document handed over to Shell, the groups said that under Dutch law Shell was unlawfully endangering peoples’ lives by not acting to prevent global warming.
“Internal and external documents show that Shell has known about climate change at least since the 1950s and has been aware of its large-scale and serious consequences at least since 1986,” it said.
“Although Shell knew, it has not taken any serious steps to minimize its share in climate change,” the document added.
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