Article 37 - Environmental protection
Article 2 - Right to life
Article 7 - Respect for private and family life
Key facts of the case:
This case reviews a judgement given by the The Hague District Court in 2021, in which it was held, partly on the basis of human rights, that Shell is under an obligation to counter dangerous climate change, because it is a major player in this field and because it affects the climate adversely, just as Milieudefensie and others had claimed. This was groundbreaking, because it was assumed sofar that private parties could not invoke human rights against another private party. However, the District Court held that the unwritten duty of care towards others in society, laid down in Article 6:162, paragraph 2 of the Civil Code, had to be interpreted in the light of human rights such as the right to life, laid down, in among other things, the Charter. This right was clearly violated by Shell. The Court of Appeal in the present case confirmed this part of the judgement. The District Court judgement, however, also held that, as a result, Shell had to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45%, relative to 2019, by 2030. The Court of Appeal quashed this part of the judgement. It held that Shell has, for other than emissions by, in particular, end users, as its target to reduce its emissions by 50% by the end of 2030 compared to 2016, which corresponds to a 48% reduction relative to 2019. There is, therefore not a threat that Shell will violate its obligation in this respect. The Court of Appeal also holds that it would not have any effect to have Shell reduce emissions by its end users by not selling fossil fuels to them, contrary to what the District Court held. This would, according to the Court of Appeal, only mean that another party would take over. Partly on the basis of this argument, the Court of Appeal held that it could not impose a specific duty on Shell in this respect.
Key legal question raised by the Court:
Does Shell have an obligation to counter dangerous climate change? Does it have to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45%, or any other (lower) percentage relative to 2019 levels by 2030?
Outcome of the case:
In this judgment it is determined on the basis of objective factors that Shell has an obligation to counter dangerous climate change. However, this does not mean that the civil court is able to establish that Shell should reduce its CO2 emissions by 45%, or any other percentage. The second answer reverses the District Court judgement in this case in 2021, which held that Shell actually had to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2030. This means that Shell no longer has to strive to reach this specific percentage, or any other specific percentage, by 2030. The Court of Appeal takes into account Shell’s plans to reduce its own emissions by the end of 2030 by 50% relative to 2016.
3.16. At the level of the European Union (hereinafter also: the EU or Union), there is also legislation in place to tackle dangerous climate change. Article 37 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union states: “A high level of environmental protection and the improvement of the quality of the environment must be integrated into the policies of the Union and ensured in accordance with the principle of sustainable development.” Article 191 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) sets out the EU’s environmental objectives: the Union’s policies shall contribute, inter alia, to the promotion at the international level of measures to deal with regional or global environmental problems, and in particular the fight against climate change. The European Union has given climate policy an increasingly prominent role in recent years. A Commission communication dated 11 December 2019 outlined the ‘European Green Deal’ for the European Union and its citizens.5 The European Green Deal comprises a new growth strategy to transform the EU into a fair and prosperous society, with a modern, resource-efficient and competitive economy, with net zero greenhouse gas emissions from 2050 and economic growth decoupled from fossil resource use. The European Green Deal covers various policy initiatives needed for sustainable development.
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7.18. In Dutch law, fundamental rights generally do not have horizontal effect. Fundamental rights have vertical effect, i.e. they apply in the citizen-government relationship. This does not alter the fact that the values embodied in fundamental rights are of such great importance to society as a whole that such rights can also be invoked, at least to some extent, by citizens in their relationship with a private company. Therefore, when dealing with private relationships, the court may include fundamental rights – or the values embodied in them – in its considerations when applying general private law concepts, such as conflict with what is proper social conduct according to unwritten law. This is referred to as indirect horizontal effect of fundamental rights. European Union law also allows some fundamental rights from the Charter to be applied in horizontal situations.
3.16. Op het niveau van de Europese Unie (hierna ook: EU of Unie) bestaat eveneens wetgeving ter bestrijding van gevaarlijke klimaatverandering. Art. 37 van het Handvest van de Grondrechten van de Europese Unie bepaalt: “Een hoog niveau van milieubescherming en de verbetering van de kwaliteit van het milieu moeten in het beleid van de Unie worden geïntegreerd en overeenkomstig het beginsel van duurzame ontwikkeling worden gewaarborgd.” Art. 191 van het Verdrag betreffende de werking van de Europese Unie (VWEU) bevat de milieudoelstellingen van de EU: het beleid van de Unie draagt onder meer bij aan de bevordering op internationaal vlak van maatregelen om het hoofd te bieden aan regionale of mondiale milieuproblemen, en in het bijzonder de bestrijding van klimaatverandering. Binnen de Europese Unie is het klimaatbeleid de afgelopen jaren een steeds prominentere rol gaan innemen. In een Mededeling van de Commissie van 11 december 2019 is de ‘European Green Deal’ voor de Europese Unie en haar burgers uiteengezet.5 De European Green Deal omvat een nieuwe groeistrategie die de EU moet omvormen tot een eerlijke en welvarende samenleving, met een moderne, hulpbronnenefficiënte en concurrerende economie, waar vanaf 2050 netto geen broeikasgassen meer worden uitgestoten en economische groei is losgekoppeld van het gebruik van fossiele hulpbronnen. De European Green Deal omvat diverse beleidsinitiatieven die nodig zijn voor een duurzame ontwikkeling.
7.18. In het Nederlandse recht komt aan grondrechten in beginsel geen horizontale werking toe. Grondrechten hebben verticale werking, dat wil zeggen dat zij van toepassing zijn in de verhouding burger - overheid. Dit neemt niet weg dat de in grondrechten belichaamde waarden van zo’n groot belang voor de samenleving als geheel zijn, dat zulke rechten ook, althans tot op zekere hoogte, kunnen worden ingeroepen door burgers in hun verhouding tot een private onderneming. De rechter kan dan ook in particuliere verhoudingen grondrechten – of de erin belichaamde waarden – in zijn overwegingen betrekken wanneer hij algemene privaatrechtelijke begrippen toepast, zoals strijd met hetgeen volgens ongeschreven recht in het maatschappelijk verkeer betaamt. Dit wordt aangeduid als indirecte horizontale werking van grondrechten. Ook voor het Unierecht geldt dat sommige grondrechten uit het Handvest van de Grondrechten van de Europese Unie in horizontale verhoudingen kunnen worden toegepast.