The current court decision does not mean that the oil giant will turn away from its green targets, but it will mean Shell can continue its present level of drilling.
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00:00In a defeat for climate activists, a Dutch appeals court has overturned a landmark ruling
00:08in favor of energy company Shell.
00:11The environmental group Milieudefensie originally filed the case, which ordered Shell to cut
00:16its carbon emissions by net 45 percent by 2030 compared to 2019 levels.
00:23Shell has set a specific reduction target for Scope 1 and 2, which includes that its
00:32Scope 1 and 2 emissions in 2030 will be reduced by 50 percent compared to 2016.
00:43Further, Shell's documents indicate that by 2023 it had already achieved a reduction
00:51of 31 percent.
00:55Activists who had gathered on the courthouse steps responded with emotion, but Milieudefensie
01:00director Donald Poels pledged to continue the fight against climate change.
01:04I was shocked.
01:07This should have been the moment when we could have realized the breakthrough in the fight
01:17against dangerous climate change.
01:18That didn't happen today, but the fight against dangerous climate change is a marathon, not
01:24a sprint, and the race has just begun.
01:27The court emphasized that protection against climate change is a human right, but that
01:31oil and gas companies have their own responsibility to protect that, adding that there is no law
01:36to prescribe specific CO2 reductions.
01:39Tuesday's civil ruling can still be appealed to the Dutch Supreme Court.