Klimaatzaak
Shell is het met Milieudefensie eens dat dringende actie nodig is om klimaatverandering tegen te gaan. We hebben alleen een andere kijk op hoe dat doel moet worden bereikt. Wij geloven niet dat een gerechtelijke uitspraak tegen één bedrijf de juiste oplossing is voor de overgang naar schonere energie.
Deze pagina is een update van eerder gepubliceerde inhoud.
“Shell zet zich actief in voor de energietransitie", stelt Frans Everts, president-directeur Shell Nederland. "Wij geloven dat vooruitgang wordt geboekt via effectief beleid, innovatie en samenwerking — niet via door de rechter opgelegde maatregelen aan individuele bedrijven. Onze focus blijft liggen op het leveren van de betrouwbare energie waar mensen en bedrijven vandaag op vertrouwen, terwijl we helpen het energiesysteem van de toekomst op te bouwen.” Shell werkt ondertussen aan het versnellen van haar strategie om meer waarde te leveren met minder uitstoot.
Klimaatzaak Milieudefensie tegen Shell
In november 2024 heeft het gerechtshof Den Haag het vonnis van 2021 van de rechtbank Den Haag vernietigd in de zaak die Milieudefensie, andere ngo's en een groep particulieren tegen Shell hadden aangespannen. Het hof erkende de concrete stappen die Shell al neemt om de uitstoot van haar activiteiten te verminderen. Shell is goed op weg om haar eigen uitstoot tegen 2030 gehalveerd te hebben. Het hof erkende ook dat een gerechtelijk bevel tegen Shell niet effectief zou zijn om de totale wereldwijde CO2-uitstoot te verminderen, aangezien andere bedrijven de verkoop van energieproducten van Shell zouden overnemen.
Tweede zaak Milieudefensie tegen Shell
Over nieuwe olie- en gasvelden. Shell plc ontving op 13 mei 2025 een brief van Milieudefensie waarin zij verdere juridische stappen aankondigt in verband met de voortdurende investeringen in olie- en gasontwikkeling en het klimaatbeleid van het bedrijf. Shell stelt dat de beschuldigingen fundamenteel onjuist zijn. Aanzienlijke investeringen zullen nodig zijn om de leveringszekerheid en betaalbaarheid van energie in de komende jaren te waarborgen. Ondertussen worden CO2-arme alternatieven ontwikkeld en commercieel beschikbaar gemaakt.
Wat er tot nu toe gebeurde
Hieronder de hoofdpunten van wat er tot nu toe gebeurde in de juridische stappen die begonnen met de dagvaarding van Milieudefensie in april 2019. Het nieuwste staat bovenaan.
Shell dient verweerschrift cassatieberoep de Klimaatzaak in
Shell reageert op brief van Milieudefensie in Tweede zaak Milieudefensie tegen Shell
Shell ontvangt brief waarin Milieudefensie aankondigt verdere juridische stappen te nemen in Tweede zaak Milieudefensie tegen Shell
Milieudefensie kondigt aan in cassatie te gaan bij Hoge Raad in de Klimaatzaak
Gerechtshof Den Haag vernietigt vonnis in de Klimaatzaak
Eerste hoorzitting hoger beroep Klimaatzaak
Uitspraak Klimaatzaak rechtbank in Den Haag
Eerste zitting in Klimaatzaak bij rechtbank in Den Haag
Milieudefensie dagvaart Shell
In april 2019 dagvaarden Milieudefensie en een aantal andere organisaties Shell. Milieudefensie c.s. eisen dat Shell minimaal en per direct haar CO2-emissies gaat reduceren met 45% in 2030 (t.o.v. 2019) en terug zal brengen naar netto nul in 2050.
Shell laat weten liever in gesprek te gaan en samen te werken aan de energietransitie dan elkaar op te zoeken in de rechtszaal. “Voor zo’n omvangrijke uitdaging als het tegengaan van klimaatverandering is per slot van rekening een gezamenlijke maatschappijbrede aanpak nodig.”
Cautionary note
Cautionary note
The companies in which Shell plc directly and indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. In this announcement “Shell”, “Shell Group” and “Group” are sometimes used for convenience to reference Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general. Likewise, the words “we”, “us” and “our” are also used to refer to Shell plc and its subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. These terms are also used where no useful purpose is served by identifying the particular entity or entities. ‘‘Subsidiaries’’, “Shell subsidiaries” and “Shell companies” as used in this announcement refer to entities over which Shell plc either directly or indirectly has control. The terms “joint venture”, “joint operations”, “joint arrangements”, and “associates” may also be used to refer to a commercial arrangement in which Shell has a direct or indirect ownership interest with one or more parties. The term “Shell interest” is used for convenience to indicate the direct and/or indirect ownership interest held by Shell in an entity or unincorporated joint arrangement, after exclusion of all third-party interest.
Forward-Looking statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements (within the meaning of the U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995) concerning the financial condition, results of operations and businesses of Shell. All statements other than statements of historical fact are, or may be deemed to be, forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are statements of future expectations that are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results, performance or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these statements. Forward-looking statements include, among other things, statements concerning the potential exposure of Shell to market risks and statements expressing management’s expectations, beliefs, estimates, forecasts, projections and assumptions. These forward-looking statements are identified by their use of terms and phrases such as “aim”; “ambition”; ‘‘anticipate’’; “aspire”, “aspiration”, ‘‘believe’’; “commit”; “commitment”; ‘‘could’’; “desire”; ‘‘estimate’’; ‘‘expect’’; ‘‘goals’’; ‘‘intend’’; ‘‘may’’; “milestones”; ‘‘objectives’’; ‘‘outlook’’; ‘‘plan’’; ‘‘probably’’; ‘‘project’’; ‘‘risks’’; “schedule”; ‘‘seek’’; ‘‘should’’; ‘‘target’’; “vision”; ‘‘will’’; “would” and similar terms and phrases. There are a number of factors that could affect the future operations of Shell and could cause those results to differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements included in this announcement, including (without limitation): (a) price fluctuations in crude oil and natural gas; (b) changes in demand for Shell’s products; (c) currency fluctuations; (d) drilling and production results; (e) reserves estimates; (f) loss of market share and industry competition; (g) environmental and physical risks, including climate change; (h) risks associated with the identification of suitable potential acquisition properties and targets, and successful negotiation and completion of such transactions; (i) the risk of doing business in developing countries and countries subject to international sanctions; (j) legislative, judicial, fiscal and regulatory developments including tariffs and regulatory measures addressing climate change; (k) economic and financial market conditions in various countries and regions; (l) political risks, including the risks of expropriation and renegotiation of the terms of contracts with governmental entities, delays or advancements in the approval of projects and delays in the reimbursement for shared costs; (m) risks associated with the impact of pandemics, regional conflicts, such as the Russia-Ukraine war and the conflict in the Middle East, and a significant cyber security, data privacy or IT incident; (n) the pace of the energy transition; and (o) changes in trading conditions. No assurance is provided that future dividend payments will match or exceed previous dividend payments. All forward-looking statements contained in this announcement are expressly qualified in their entirety by the cautionary statements contained or referred to in this section. Readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional risk factors that may affect future results are contained in Shell plc’s Form 20-F and amendment thereto for the year ended December 31, 2025 (available at www.shell.com/investors/news-and-filings/sec-filings.html and www.sec.gov). These risk factors also expressly qualify all forward-looking statements contained in this announcement and should be considered by the reader. Each forward-looking statement speaks only as of the date of this announcement, March 5, 2026. Neither Shell plc nor any of its subsidiaries undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement as a result of new information, future events or other information. In light of these risks, results could differ materially from those stated, implied or inferred from the forward-looking statements contained in this announcement.
Shell’s net carbon intensity
Also, in this announcement we may refer to Shell’s “net carbon intensity” (NCI), which includes Shell’s carbon emissions from the production of our energy products, our suppliers’ carbon emissions in supplying energy for that production and our customers’ carbon emissions associated with their use of the energy products we sell. Shell’s NCI also includes the emissions associated with the production and use of energy products produced by others which Shell purchases for resale. Shell only controls its own emissions. The use of the terms Shell’s “net carbon intensity” or NCI is for convenience only and not intended to suggest these emissions are those of Shell plc or its subsidiaries.
Shell’s net-zero emissions target
Shell’s operating plan and outlook are forecasted for a three-year period and ten-year period, respectively, and are updated every year. They reflect the current economic environment and what we can reasonably expect to see over the next three and ten years. Accordingly, the outlook reflects our Scope 1, Scope 2 and NCI targets over the next ten years. However, Shell’s operating plan and outlook cannot reflect our 2050 net-zero emissions target, as this target is outside our planning period. Such future operating plans and outlooks could include changes to our portfolio, efficiency improvements and the use of carbon capture and storage and carbon credits. In the future, as society moves towards net-zero emissions, we expect Shell’s operating plans and outlooks to reflect this movement. However, if society is not net zero in 2050, as of today, there would be significant risk that Shell may not meet this target.
Forward-Looking non-GAAP measures
This announcement may contain certain forward-looking non-GAAP measures such as adjusted earnings and divestments. We are unable to provide a reconciliation of these forward-looking non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures because certain information needed to reconcile those non-GAAP measures to the most comparable GAAP financial measures is dependent on future events some of which are outside the control of Shell, such as oil and gas prices, interest rates and exchange rates. Moreover, estimating such GAAP measures with the required precision necessary to provide a meaningful reconciliation is extremely difficult and could not be accomplished without unreasonable effort. Non-GAAP measures in respect of future periods which cannot be reconciled to the most comparable GAAP financial measure are calculated in a manner which is consistent with the accounting policies applied in Shell plc’s consolidated financial statements.
The contents of websites referred to in this announcement do not form part of this announcement.
We may have used certain terms, such as resources, in this announcement that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) strictly prohibits us from including in our filings with the SEC. Investors are urged to consider closely the disclosure in our Form 20-F and any amendment thereto, File No 1-32575, available on the SEC website www.sec.gov.
