Shell confirms it has faced legal action over climate change
Oil giant Royal Dutch Shell has confirmed, for the third year running, that it has faced legal action over its contribution to climate change. However, it stressed that the cases were dismissed and that the company remains confident any future legal action does not pose a “material” risk to the firm.
The Anglo-Dutch oil major confirmed in its annual report, released earlier today, that it has, along with a number of other energy companies, been subject to climate change-related litigation, although it did not name the organisations that have taken it to court.
“We believe these lawsuits are without merit and are not material to Shell,” the company said in the report.
The revelation prompted a series of media reports, although a Shell spokesman told BusinessGreen that the court cases were also revealed in annual reports in 2009 and 2010.
“There were a number of cases in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the mid-2000s,” he said. “They were dismissed and we continue to believe these types of court cases are without merit.”
However, the latest statement will again highlight the risk of litigation that carbon-intensive firms face, particularly in the US.
Energy firms have generally proved adept at defending themselves in such cases. For example, the US Supreme Court last year rejected a lawsuit seeking to classify five US energy firms’ carbon emissions as a “public nuisance”. The suit would have forced the firms to take action to curb their emissions.
The decision cut off another legal route for green groups seeking to impose emissions limits through the courts, but a number of NGOs remain committed to challenging carbon-intensive firms’ activities through legal avenues.
Most notably, a UK campaign is seeking to classify “ecocide” as a crime against humanity – a proposal which, if adopted, could have huge repercussions for polluting firms.
In related news, a group of US environmental NGOs this week filed law suits against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), designed to force the watchdog to curb pollution in the Mississippi River Basin, which the group blames for creating a huge “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico.
The lawsuits are calling on the courts to force the EPA to set new guidelines for water quality and wastewater treatment standards in states within the Mississippi River Basin. The basin stretches all the way from the Rocky Mountains to New York.
Matt Rota, director of science and water policy for the Gulf Restoration Network, told reporters at a news conference yesterday that the Mississippi is being treated as “the nation’s sewer”, and added that the onus is on the EPA and state governments to beef up their efforts to curb water pollution.
The Anglo-Dutch oil major confirmed in its annual report, released earlier today, that it has, along with a number of other energy companies, been subject to climate change-related litigation, although it did not name the organisations that have taken it to court.
“We believe these lawsuits are without merit and are not material to Shell,” the company said in the report.
The revelation prompted a series of media reports, although a Shell spokesman told BusinessGreen that the court cases were also revealed in annual reports in 2009 and 2010.
“There were a number of cases in the aftermath of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita in the mid-2000s,” he said. “They were dismissed and we continue to believe these types of court cases are without merit.”
However, the latest statement will again highlight the risk of litigation that carbon-intensive firms face, particularly in the US.
Energy firms have generally proved adept at defending themselves in such cases. For example, the US Supreme Court last year rejected a lawsuit seeking to classify five US energy firms’ carbon emissions as a “public nuisance”. The suit would have forced the firms to take action to curb their emissions.
The decision cut off another legal route for green groups seeking to impose emissions limits through the courts, but a number of NGOs remain committed to challenging carbon-intensive firms’ activities through legal avenues.
Most notably, a UK campaign is seeking to classify “ecocide” as a crime against humanity – a proposal which, if adopted, could have huge repercussions for polluting firms.
In related news, a group of US environmental NGOs this week filed law suits against the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), designed to force the watchdog to curb pollution in the Mississippi River Basin, which the group blames for creating a huge “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico.
The lawsuits are calling on the courts to force the EPA to set new guidelines for water quality and wastewater treatment standards in states within the Mississippi River Basin. The basin stretches all the way from the Rocky Mountains to New York.
Matt Rota, director of science and water policy for the Gulf Restoration Network, told reporters at a news conference yesterday that the Mississippi is being treated as “the nation’s sewer”, and added that the onus is on the EPA and state governments to beef up their efforts to curb water pollution.
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