Signal Urgenda (2019) and Shell (2021) climate rulings in the Netherlands

Summary

The report records that the Netherlands has seen several lawsuits seeking to hold government and business accountable for climate policy that pays too little heed to legally agreed targets. In the Urgenda case, a court in 2019 ordered the Dutch central government to take climate action on the basis of human rights. In 2021 Shell became the first private company to be ordered by a court to take climate action, on the grounds of its duty of care. The order against Shell was overturned on appeal in 2024. The report presents these cases as domestic examples of the growing number of parties that go to court to force climate policy. The report judges that such victories for claimants give momentum to the approach of enforcing climate policy through the courts.