Former Shell director Jeroen van der Veer is surprised by the verdict that stipulates that the oil company must reduce its CO2 emissions more quickly. “The judge is going to sit in the chair of the government and forces Shell to become smaller,” he says in a statement news hour.
In a case that Milieudefensie had brought, the court in The Hague ruled on Wednesday that Shell must do more to prevent dangerous climate change. The verdict was a world first. The judge ruled that companies must tackle climate change independently, independently of government regulations.
The judge is going a step too far with this, says Van der Veer. “I think it should work like this: there is a Paris agreement between countries, which each country must translate into laws within which their companies and citizens must act. Here is now an extra party, a judge, who says ‘we can take measures outside this system around’. And that’s a problem.” Van der Veer estimates that there is a good chance that his former employer will appeal.
‘People will continue to refuel’
As a result of the ruling, Shell must reduce its CO2 emissions by 45 percent by the end of 2030 compared to 2019. Shell now has the goal of achieving that by 2035.
Shell wants to be CO2-neutral by 2050. “So in the long run, Shell agrees with the environmental movement,” says Van der Veer. “With this statement we are forced to phase out our fossil company faster. I don’t understand how that helps the energy transition.”
According to Van der Veer, Shell is already doing a lot with renewable energy and it makes no sense for the climate if the company becomes more sustainable even faster. “Suppose Shell goes to KLM and says: ‘We have to cut 45 percent in nine years, so you get less jet fuel’. Do you think KLM will fly less? No, they buy from someone else.”
“Or we will close the Shell station along the main road. Will you stop refueling or drive a car? No, you just go to the next station and don’t buy an electric car before.”
–
Van der Veer was director of Shell from 2004 to 2009. He worked there until 2013. In 2009 Shell stopped investing in wind and solar energy and hydrogen for a while. After Van der Veer’s period, the company’s ambition was to spend six billion dollars on renewable energy between 2016 and 2020. Two billion of that was actually realized. During the same period, the company invested 120 billion dollars in fossil energy.
“You use what you earn with what you are good at and what is in demand – oil and gas – to develop new technologies,” says Van der Veer. “But that can’t all happen overnight.”
Are you leaving the Netherlands?
If the judge’s ruling stands after a possible appeal, Shell could possibly avoid the verdict by leaving the Netherlands. “I would personally find that very bad,” says Van der Veer. “I am proud that the head office is here. We got it through an extremely difficult process in the Netherlands in 2005 and created a lot of high-quality jobs.”
“We are not such a big country, we have to rely on international trade and international companies. So we have to have an order that companies feel happy here and we all have to contribute to that and then it is a win-win for everyone .”
Watch the entire conversation with Van der Veer here:
–
What does the ruling mean for Shell?
– –
