Landmark ruling: All companies must act against climate change - Friends of the Earth Netherlands versus Royal Dutch Shell

On the 26th of May 2021, the Hague District Court rendered a ground-breaking judgment against oil giant Royal Dutch Shell (RDS). The Court ruled that RDS has an independent obligation to do its share against climate change. The legal basis is international human rights law, which applies indirectly to a private entity like RDS through an open norm of Dutch private law. Importantly, the Court stressed that not only Shell, but ‘all companies, no matter size, sector, operational context, property relations or structure’ have an obligation to respect human rights, implying all must do their share against climate change.