Comparing two court rulings on Shell's carbon emissions with climate-policy science

In November 2024, a ruling by a Dutch Court of Appeal overturned a 2021 District Court verdict concerning the obligations of the oil and gas company Shell to reduce its carbon emissions. This perspective article examines the scientific basis of the differing arguments in the two court rulings, with...

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Authors: Van den Bergh, Jeroen|||0000-0003-3415-3083, Van Soest, Jan Paul|||0000-0002-5082-7650
Format: article
Publication Date:2026
Country:España
Institution:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repository:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Language:English
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:325654
Online Access:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/325654
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.erss.2026.104568
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Climate change
Climate policy
Effectiveness
Justice
Lawsuit
Litigation
SDG 13 - Climate Action
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spelling Comparing two court rulings on Shell's carbon emissions with climate-policy scienceVan den Bergh, Jeroen|||0000-0003-3415-3083Van Soest, Jan Paul|||0000-0002-5082-7650Climate changeClimate policyEffectivenessJusticeLawsuitLitigationSDG 13 - Climate ActionIn November 2024, a ruling by a Dutch Court of Appeal overturned a 2021 District Court verdict concerning the obligations of the oil and gas company Shell to reduce its carbon emissions. This perspective article examines the scientific basis of the differing arguments in the two court rulings, with a particular focus on the effectiveness of emissions-reduction strategies. To this end, we first summarize the reasoning in both rulings and identify their key points of divergence. Subsequently, we assess which ruling aligns more closely with the scientific literature on climate policy. Our analysis zooms in on four issues: the public-good nature of climate mitigation and the problem of free-riding; the aim and impact of the European Union's Emissions Trading System; the treatment of Scope 3 emissions generated by end users of Shell's products; and the roles of companies versus the state in achieving emissions reductions. We conclude that the Court of Appeal's ruling is more consistent with current scientific insights about effective climate policy than the earlier District Court decision. This is not to deny that companies like Shell will have to fundamentally transform - or otherwise eventually disappear - on the path to a zero-carbon economy. But such change is most likely to occur as the outcome of a systemic policy approach that delivers steady and substantial emissions reductions across all sectors and jurisdictions. We therefore argue that a more effective legal strategy is to pursue legal action against governments that fail to implement policies in line with internationally agreed climate targets. 22026-01-0120262026-01-01Articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://ddd.uab.cat/record/325654https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.erss.2026.104568reponame:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UABinstname:Universitat Autònoma de BarcelonaInglésengEuropean Commission https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000780 101097924Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación https://doi.org/10.13039/501100004837 CEX2019-000940-Mopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, la comunicació pública de l'obra i la creació d'obres derivades, fins i tot amb finalitats comercials, sempre i quan es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original.https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:ddd.uab.cat:3256542026-06-06T12:50:31Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Comparing two court rulings on Shell's carbon emissions with climate-policy science
title Comparing two court rulings on Shell's carbon emissions with climate-policy science
spellingShingle Comparing two court rulings on Shell's carbon emissions with climate-policy science
Van den Bergh, Jeroen|||0000-0003-3415-3083
Climate change
Climate policy
Effectiveness
Justice
Lawsuit
Litigation
SDG 13 - Climate Action
title_short Comparing two court rulings on Shell's carbon emissions with climate-policy science
title_full Comparing two court rulings on Shell's carbon emissions with climate-policy science
title_fullStr Comparing two court rulings on Shell's carbon emissions with climate-policy science
title_full_unstemmed Comparing two court rulings on Shell's carbon emissions with climate-policy science
title_sort Comparing two court rulings on Shell's carbon emissions with climate-policy science
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Van den Bergh, Jeroen|||0000-0003-3415-3083
Van Soest, Jan Paul|||0000-0002-5082-7650
author Van den Bergh, Jeroen|||0000-0003-3415-3083
author_facet Van den Bergh, Jeroen|||0000-0003-3415-3083
Van Soest, Jan Paul|||0000-0002-5082-7650
author_role author
author2 Van Soest, Jan Paul|||0000-0002-5082-7650
author2_role author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Climate change
Climate policy
Effectiveness
Justice
Lawsuit
Litigation
SDG 13 - Climate Action
topic Climate change
Climate policy
Effectiveness
Justice
Lawsuit
Litigation
SDG 13 - Climate Action
description In November 2024, a ruling by a Dutch Court of Appeal overturned a 2021 District Court verdict concerning the obligations of the oil and gas company Shell to reduce its carbon emissions. This perspective article examines the scientific basis of the differing arguments in the two court rulings, with a particular focus on the effectiveness of emissions-reduction strategies. To this end, we first summarize the reasoning in both rulings and identify their key points of divergence. Subsequently, we assess which ruling aligns more closely with the scientific literature on climate policy. Our analysis zooms in on four issues: the public-good nature of climate mitigation and the problem of free-riding; the aim and impact of the European Union's Emissions Trading System; the treatment of Scope 3 emissions generated by end users of Shell's products; and the roles of companies versus the state in achieving emissions reductions. We conclude that the Court of Appeal's ruling is more consistent with current scientific insights about effective climate policy than the earlier District Court decision. This is not to deny that companies like Shell will have to fundamentally transform - or otherwise eventually disappear - on the path to a zero-carbon economy. But such change is most likely to occur as the outcome of a systemic policy approach that delivers steady and substantial emissions reductions across all sectors and jurisdictions. We therefore argue that a more effective legal strategy is to pursue legal action against governments that fail to implement policies in line with internationally agreed climate targets.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2
2026-01-01
2026
2026-01-01
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv Article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://ddd.uab.cat/record/325654
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.erss.2026.104568
url https://ddd.uab.cat/record/325654
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1016/j.erss.2026.104568
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv European Commission https://doi.org/10.13039/501100000780 101097924
Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación https://doi.org/10.13039/501100004837 CEX2019-000940-M
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
instname:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
instname_str Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
reponame_str Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
collection Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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