• About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms
  • Contact
Friday, January 27, 2023
Financial Eye News
  • Home
  • Markets
    • Stock Market News
    • Commodities
    • Forex
    • Renewables
  • Cryptocurrency
    • Ultimate Guide to Crypto
  • Business
    • News
    • Companies
    • Technology
    • Climate
    • Politics
  • Reports
    • Ultimate Guide to Crypto
  • VideosNew
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Markets
    • Stock Market News
    • Commodities
    • Forex
    • Renewables
  • Cryptocurrency
    • Ultimate Guide to Crypto
  • Business
    • News
    • Companies
    • Technology
    • Climate
    • Politics
  • Reports
    • Ultimate Guide to Crypto
  • VideosNew
No Result
View All Result
Financial Eye News
No Result
View All Result

Climate group prepares legal action against Shell directors

March 19, 2022
in Climate
Reading Time: 3 mins read
51 0
ADVERTISEMENT

Shell’s board of directors bear personal responsibility for not preparing to cut emissions fast enough, an environmental shareholder group has claimed in the first significant attempt to hold individual executives legally accountable for alleged failures to tackle climate change.

ClientEarth, a Shell shareholder, notified the energy major on Monday that it would commence legal proceedings against the company’s 13 executive and non-executive directors for what it said was the board’s failure to adopt a strategy that “truly aligns” with the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

The not-for-profit group, which has a strong record of winning climate-related cases, wrote to Shell in advance of petitioning the High Court of England and Wales for permission to bring the claim.

“Shell is seriously exposed to the physical and transitional risks of climate change,” said ClientEarth lawyer Paul Benson. “The longer the board delays, the more likely it is that the company will have to execute an abrupt ‘handbrake turn’ to retain commercial competitiveness and meet the challenges of inevitable regulatory developments.”

The new legal action comes less than a year after Shell lost a landmark climate case in the Netherlands, where it was ordered by a court to reduce its emissions by 45 per cent by 2030 compared with 2019 levels.

Shell has said it will cut emissions from its own operations by more than the court has ordered but has appealed against the decision. The UK-listed group argues it cannot be held responsible for the carbon emitted by the products it sells, particularly while governments are doing little to regulate consumer demand.

Shell has committed to reduce the carbon intensity of the energy products it sells by 20 per cent by 2030, and by 45 per cent by 2035, but not to a reduction in absolute emissions, which would require bigger cuts to the amount of oil and gas it produces.

ClientEarth argues these commitments are not consistent with the Paris Agreement’s aim to limit any global temperature increase to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels and that Shell’s directors are in breach of their obligations under the UK Companies Act to “act in a way that promotes the company’s success”.

Climate litigator Roger Cox, who is not involved in ClientEarth’s proceedings but led the Dutch case against Shell last year, said the effort by a shareholder to hold board directors personally accountable was part of a “paradigm shift” in how society viewed corporate responsibility for climate change.

Climate Capital

Where climate change meets business, markets and politics. Explore the FT’s coverage here.

Are you curious about the FT’s environmental sustainability commitments? Find out more about our science-based targets here

“It is good to see that more and more shareholders are of the opinion . . . that it is in the best interests of the company to become Paris-aligned as quickly as possible,” he said.

Shell’s board directors include chief executive Ben van Beurden and chair Andrew Mackenzie.

Shell said its plan to halve emissions from its global operations by 2030 is “industry-leading” and that its strategy to be a net zero emissions business by 2050 “supports the Paris Agreement”.

“The energy supply challenges we are seeing underscore the need for effective, government-led policies to address critical needs such as energy security while decarbonising our energy system,” it said. “These challenges cannot be solved by litigation.”

ClientEarth is encouraging institutional investors to join or support its claim ahead of Shell’s annual meeting in May.

“Shell’s shareholders need certainty that the company is using their capital effectively in its navigation of the global energy transition and is genuinely pursuing the climate goals that it says it is,” Benson said.

Twice weekly newsletter

Energy is the world’s indispensable business and Energy Source is its newsletter. Every Tuesday and Thursday, direct to your inbox, Energy Source brings you essential news, forward-thinking analysis and insider intelligence. Sign up here.

​Letter in response to this article:

Companies ignoring ESG activists risk reputations / From Emma Carr, Commercial Litigation, Partner, Gowling WLG, London SE1, UK

Source: Financial Times

ADVERTISEMENT
Share6Tweet4Share1SendShareSend

Related Posts

Climate

What to expect from this month’s nature COP

December 5, 2022
Climate

War and adverse weather set to keep food prices high

December 5, 2022
Climate

French hail ‘breakthrough’ in EU dispute with US over climate law

December 2, 2022
Climate

US says Chinese solar companies have been evading tariffs

December 2, 2022
Climate

Florida to pull $2bn from BlackRock in spreading ESG backlash

December 1, 2022
Climate

EU unveils plan to slash waste by nearly a fifth by 2030

November 30, 2022

Popular Stories

  • AIG to launch cut-price IPO of life and asset management unit

    48 shares
    Share 19 Tweet 12
  • EY boss targets $10bn boost from Silicon Valley tie-ups after break-up

    32 shares
    Share 13 Tweet 8
  • Tesla delays plan to restore Shanghai output to pre-lockdown levels -memo

    32 shares
    Share 13 Tweet 8
  • TV production giant Banijay to go public via Arnault-backed Spac

    30 shares
    Share 12 Tweet 8
  • Nio to Invest $32.8M Building R&D Labs in Shanghai By Financial Eye

    30 shares
    Share 12 Tweet 8
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest News

Taylor Swift Fans Sue Ticketmaster’s Parent Company

December 5, 2022

Fisker trades down following price cut at Citi By Financial Eye

December 5, 2022

UAW president faces run-off election as reformers make gains

December 5, 2022

Felipe Valls, 89, Whose Cuban Restaurant Became a Political Hub, Dies

December 5, 2022

Longroad buys 98-MW solar farm in California

December 5, 2022
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

Financial Eye is one of the most trusted news sources for Financial News, global news and local USA news, we provide the news from the most trusted sources.

LEARN MORE »

Recent News

  • Taylor Swift Fans Sue Ticketmaster’s Parent Company
  • Fisker trades down following price cut at Citi By Financial Eye
  • UAW president faces run-off election as reformers make gains

Sections

  • Business
  • Climate
  • Commodities
  • Companies
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Cryptocurrency
  • Forex
  • Green Energy
  • Latest Financial News
  • News
  • Politics
  • Stock Market News
  • Technology
  • Videos

© 2022 Financial Eye News Media

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • Markets
    • Stock Market News
    • Commodities
    • Forex
    • Renewables
  • Cryptocurrency
    • Ultimate Guide to Crypto
  • Business
    • News
    • Companies
    • Technology
    • Climate
    • Politics
  • Reports
    • Ultimate Guide to Crypto
  • Videos

© 2022 Financial Eye News Media

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In

Subscribe To Our Daily News Round-Up.

The top ten most-read stories direct to your inbox

You have Successfully Subscribed!

You have Successfully Subscribed!

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.