Proactive Investors - Shell PLC (LON:SHEL) has emerged in the spotlight after facing heated criticism from the likes of actors and environmental groups on the eve of its appeal against a landmark Dutch ruling.
Benedict Cumberbatch, Emma Thompson and Stephen Fry were among high profile names to slate the oil giant over its £1.7 million lawsuit against Greenpeace, launched last year.
This was as Shell PLC geared up to appeal a separate Dutch court ruling on Tuesday, which had ordered it to slash emissions by 45% by 2030.
As per Shell (LON:RDSa), the trio of judges that made the 2021 ruling did not consider the full implications of such a reduction for the global energy transition.
“If [...] energy is no longer reliable when you press the button or want to cook food and turn on the gas stove, the support of people in the country here but also in other countries for the energy transition will be lost,” lawyer Daan Lunsingh Scheurleer argued on Tuesday.
The trial is set to last until April 12, with either side able to take the case to the Dutch Supreme Court.
Shell’s claims against Greenpeace centre around a protest which saw activists occupy one of its platforms for 13 days near the Canary Islands in early 2023, meanwhile.
“You may believe that this lawsuit will dissuade all those justifiably alarmed by the impact your industry is having on the planet,” an open letter, signed by the actors, said.
“On the contrary, it makes your company look callous and vindictive and will serve only to increase support for organisations like Greenpeace who seek to hold you to account.”
Shell responded that it “absolutely” respected people’s right to protest, but argued the incident was dangerous given protestors boarded the platform while it was in transit.