Shell boss says forced emissions cuts are useless on a global scale

Oil and gas company Shell will not wait for the outcome of the appeal and will comply with the decision of the Hague court to accelerate the reduction of emissions, writes the Financial Times, citing a statement from the company's management. What eco-activists expect from this decision, it still will not give, chief executive officer of the company Ben van Beurden warned.

Van Beurden wrote that Shell would "take up the challenge" and that the court's decision does not mean a change in strategy, but only its accelerated implementation. “We will try to reduce emissions even more,” he said.

At the same time, the top manager expressed his disappointment that the court singled out his company among others and made a loud, but not very useful decision for reducing total global emissions. “Imagine Shell stopping sales of gasoline and diesel fuel today,” van Beurden writes. “It will instantly reduce our emissions. But the world as a whole will not help in any way. The demand for fuel will not change.” Shell, which receives most of its revenue from the sale of motor fuel, will continue to produce and sell it in the long term.

At the end of May, a court ruled that Shell must cut carbon emissions faster than planned, by 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, instead of the same cut by 2035.

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We talked about why the decision of the court in the lawsuit against Shell will be epoch-making for the entire industry, we talked about here . One of the factors is that it is not tied to some violations of the company, but to human rights. the great precedent value of the decision for energy companies , believing that "the court actually made a corporate decision for management, and this is a new form of risk for majors." recognized The head of Rosneft, Igor Sechin, also