A Dutch civil court ordered Royal Dutch Shell on May 26 to cut at least 45% of carbon emissions by 2030. Student leaders from Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group feel that the case’s outcome may set a precedent for energy companies going forward.
“It's exciting that we're beginning to see strong action like this being taken, and it's an important part of furthering the conversations about fossil fuels and climate change,” Elizabeth Radcliffe, OSPIRG’s chapter chair, said. “Although rulings like this could be more challenging in the U.S, this case makes me optimistic about the future of climate action.”
Seven groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Netherlands, filed the lawsuit in April 2019 on behalf of over 17,000 Dutch citizens, marking the first time that a court has ordered a company to reduce its emissions to alleviate climate change. While the terms of the ruling only apply to the Netherlands, this case will hopefully have effects in the United States, Radcliffe said.
Shell announced its climate strategy earlier this year, including its plans to become a net zero emissions company by 2050. However, the Dutch court said that this plan was not concrete enough. Shell responded with plans to appeal the decision.
“This shows that when we do see environmental commitments that we don't feel are strong enough like Shell's commitment to net-zero by 2050, we can continue to take action and challenge them to expand their impacts,” OSPIRG Vice Chair Eliza Garcia said.
Garcia is OSPIRG’s incoming 100% Clean Energy campaign coordinator for next term, and will lead a group of students educating UO students on the dangers of fossil fuels and cleaner alternatives. Funded by a student fee of $1.75 each term, OSPIRG’s UO chapter campaigns on campus for environmental justice, resources for unhoused people and textbook price transparency.
Outside of the U.S., the effects of oil drilling harm marginalized communities disproportionately, Radcliffe said, making environmental justice critical to any effort to fight climate change. Throughout the term, OSPIRG worked to make it a priority to address environmental racism and inequality, Radcliffe said. They began including BIPOC voices in their climate activism, inviting members of NAACP Eugene and Isaac Vergun, one of the plaintiffs in the Youth v. Gov. case, to speak on environmental racism, she said.
“We also work to amplify the ways in which environmental issues disproportionately affect BIPOC communities in our campaigns, during the processes of campaign selection, discussion and planning,” Garcia said. “For example, the 100% Clean Energy campaign works to highlight how fossil fuels hurt communities of color more because of the effects of historical environmental racism.”
Radcliffe and Garcia said the Shell ruling should be the first step in the journey towards 100% clean energy. Activists hope this will be an example for other nations, Garcia said.
“We've known for years that it is not sustainable to rely on fossil fuels as our main energy source, so I see pushing cities and states to make strong commitments to clean and renewable energy as the next steps we need to take,” Garcia said.
"exciting" - Google News
June 10, 2021 at 08:00PM
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'The Shell ruling is an exciting step in the right direction,' OSPIRG says - Oregon Daily Emerald
"exciting" - Google News
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