In 2021, tens of thousands of Dutch citizens took Royal Dutch Shell to court and won. (Photo: Milieudefensie)
Thousands of climate advocates and environmental organisations across the world are rallying behind the hashtag #BeatShell to call on the public to donate to a citizens’ court case against Shell.
In 2021, tens of thousands of Dutch citizens took one of the largest carbon emitters in the world to court and won. Together with Friends of the Earth Netherlands (Milieudefensie) they forced Royal Dutch Shell, the parent company of Shell Group, to take climate action.
The judge ruled that Shell’s current climate policy would contribute to a level of climate change that would be so dangerous that it would create a threat to human rights. The ruling forces the company to change its goal from a mere 20% reduction in carbon emissions to a whopping 45% reduction by 2030. But most importantly, the ruling says that Shell also carries responsibility for the emissions of the use of their products by third parties.
In response, Shell decided to appeal the Dutch court’s ruling in July of 2021 and proceeded to move their headquarters from the Netherlands to the United Kingdom in January of 2022. As a result, Milieudefensie is now launching a campaign to raise donations to fund the continuation of this enormous court case. Their goal: legally binding one of the largest polluters in the world to actual, groundbreaking change for the better.
This week, thousands of climate advocates, activists and organisations across the world shared an online viral video and the hashtag #BeatShell, calling on Shell’s new CEO to take responsibility in the climate crisis. The video is part of the fundraising campaign for Milieudefensie’s case against Shell, and thousands across the world are helping out with individual contributions.