"Shell Faces Lawsuit in the Netherlands, a New Legal Front in the Climate Battle", 12 Feb 2019

Seven environmental and human rights organizations in the Netherlands announced on Tuesday they are prepared to sue Royal Dutch Shell if the oil giant refuses to align its business model with the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement...

...If Shell fails to meet their demands, they plan to deliver a court summons to the company at its headquarters in The Hague on April 5. This would be a new legal approach in battling climate change, the first lawsuit to directly challenge the business model and growth strategy of an oil company...

...[L]ast year...the organization sent a letter to Shell warning of legal action if the company failed to cut back producing the fossil fuels that drive climate change.

That letter followed the public release of a trove of documents by the Dutch news organization De Correspondent showing that for decades, Shell has been aware of the impact of burning fossil fuels on the climate...

“We strongly support the Paris Agreement and the need for society to transition to a lower carbon future,” a Shell spokeperson said in response to the latest action. “We’re committed to playing our part and have set an ambition to reduce Shell’s net carbon footprint, including emissions from both our own operations and from our customers’ use of our energy products. To demonstrate progress, we will set short-term targets for reducing emissions, linked to executive remuneration.”...