Next round in the legal dispute between Milieudefensie and Shell. The climate organization aims to prevent Shell from developing 700 oil and gas fields.
The summons for another climate lawsuit was received on Tuesday by the energy company Shell, which is now based in London. Milieudefensie, the Dutch branch of the climate protection network Friends of the Earth International, demands that Shell drill no new oil and gas fields. Director Donald Pols stated at a press briefing last week: “The science has been clear for years: if we want to prevent dangerous climate change, every new oil and gas field is one too many.”
Shell holds stakes in 700 such fields that have not yet been developed. One of them lies beneath Bergen, a picturesque village in the inland coastal area near Alkmaar, which is popular with German holidaymakers. There, Milieudefensie presented on Tuesday an oversized world map in looming red and orange tones to highlight the dangers of global warming. According to a 2025 study prepared jointly with the human rights organization Global Witness, avoiding oil or gas extraction on the new fields would cut CO₂ emissions by 5.2 billion tonnes — “36 times the Netherlands’ annual emissions.”
The NGO Milieudefensie bases its indictment on figures from the IPCC, according to which even the use of existing fossil resources is enough to drive warming of 1.5 degrees. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), there is enough oil and gas in the already developed fields to meet demand for the coming decades. The fact that Shell intends to develop additional fields is a desperate attempt by “big polluters” to keep society “in the chokehold of its fossil dependence.”
Before the two parties face each other in The Hague court, several months are likely to pass. Part of the undoubtedly large attention goes back to the history of this constellation: In May 2021, the court ruled that Shell must reduce its CO₂ emissions by 45 percent by 2030 compared with 2019, which made headlines worldwide. At the end of 2024, however, the court in a revision procedure acknowledged Shell’s objection. While it confirmed the company’s responsibility to address the consequences of global warming, it rejected the specific target of 45 percent. Since 2025, a cassation proceeding is underway before the Supreme Court.
Energy crisis adds new urgency
The renewed lawsuit is also brought into focus by the now-changed economic situation due to the global energy crisis. The conservative Telegraaf, the Netherlands’ best-selling newspaper, wrote on Tuesday that Shell had already rejected the “out-of-touch stance of clubs like Milieudefensie” earlier. For the renewed summons, Telegraaf quotes the company: “Unrealistic, inappropriate, and fundamentally misplaced.” Demand for oil and gas will, in the current situation, “decrease at a slower pace.”
If we want to prevent dangerous climate change, every new oil and gas field is one too many.
Donald Pols, Milieudefensie
Thus, the case will also address the question of what social implications should be drawn from the current crisis regarding climate-friendly alternatives to fossil fuels.
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