"New lawsuit against Shell as oil and gas giant takes step to increase fossil fuel mining", 21 April 2026

Environmental organization Milieudefensie has filed another lawsuit against Shell. The oil and gas giant told shareholders last year that it intends to continue on the old path of fossil energy by increasing natural gas production and not decreasing oil production. That is contrary to the ruling of the Court of Appeal in The Hague, Milieudefensie said, RTL Nieuws reports.

The court ruled in November 2024 that Shell has an obligation to reduce its emissions and combat dangerous climate change. Increasing fossil fuel mining is not aligned with that. However, the court’s ruling also stated that Shell cannot be forced to take any concrete measures. Milieudefensie appealed against this ruling to the Supreme CourtThat hearing is scheduled for May 22...

Milieudefensie points out that Shell has an interest in 700 untapped oil and gas fields. Drilling the new oil and gas resources will cost tens of billions, and that amount would have to be recouped over the coming decades, the climate group said.

Shell told RTL Nieuws that Milieudefensie’s lawsuit is “unrealistic, unreasonable, and fundamentally misplaced” for many reasons. According to the fossil fuel giant, Milieudefensie’s insistence to halt drilling of new fields is ignoring “the role that oil and gas will continue to play in the coming decades.” Shell also said that if it doesn’t develop the oil and gas fields, the governments that own the land will simply allocate it to other companies.