Shell Wins Appeal of Court-Ordered Emissions Reductions

For the third year in a row, the world’s most important climate conference is taking place in a country whose largest source of export revenue is fossil fuel. This year, over 190 countries are assembling in Baku, Azerbaijan. And despite nearly 30 years of pledges and promises, the UN’s recent Emissions Gap Report shows virtually every country failing to deliver on its promises.

Ever since the Paris Agreement was signed at the 21st Conference of Parties (COP), the focus of this annual meeting has been implementation: How can the nations of the world possibly deliver on their promises to cut emissions when the economic interests in doing so aren’t aligned? In the meantime, the poorest countries, who contributed least to the problem, are getting hit hardest by devastating climate impacts, like droughts, floods, and the resulting poverty and civil unrest. COP29 is being billed as “the finance COP.” So, what do the richest owe the poorest?

Mitzi Jonelle Tan

Climate Justice Activist

Todd Stern

Former United States Special Envoy for Climate Change

Leah Stokes: 2024 Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication
December 9, 2024 | 6:00 p.m.
Climate One is delighted to present the 2024 Stephen H. Schneider Award for Outstanding Climate Science Communication to political scientist Leah Stokes.

Stokes is an expert in climate and energy policy. As both an academic and a mobilizer, she focuses on implementing policies that drive widespread decarbonization. Her rare ability to communicate complex information to both academic audiences and the general public has established her as one of the most influential voices in climate action and clean energy policy. Recognized on the 2022 TIME100 Next and Business Insider's Climate Action 30 lists, she also co-hosts the podcast “A Matter of Degrees.”

Join Climate One for this special in-person conversation with Leah Stokes, policy expert, climate communicator, and the Anton Vonk Associate Professor of Environmental Politics at UC Santa Barbara.

After COP29: The Energy Transition Challenge
December 4, 2024 | 6:00 p.m.
A special event from our colleagues at the Commonwealth Club
The energy transition is a monumental task, still in its early stages, with only about 10% of the necessary low-emissions technologies deployed to meet 2050 targets, according to the McKinsey Global Institute.

As the world strives to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, while meeting growing global energy demand, significant challenges lie ahead. Join us as we explore the complexities of transforming the global energy infrastructure, a system optimized over centuries but now needing a rapid decarbonization in just decades to minimize global warming and head off the most severe impacts.

As the dust settles on this year’s COP29, industry leaders will share insights on the progress being made and the critical steps needed to scale low-emission technologies while ensuring energy access and equity worldwide. Don’t miss this forward-looking discussion on the physical and technical hurdles that must be overcome to achieve a sustainable energy future.

Dutch oil and gas corporation Shell won its legal appeal of a 2021 order to reduce its emissions by 45% by 2030. In her ruling, which may be further appealed to The Netherlands’ Supreme Court, Presiding Judge Carla Joustra wrote that while emission reductions from Shell would positively contribute to mitigating climate change, requiring Shell to make the 45% cuts by 2030 may lead to an increase in global emissions by pushing current Shell customers toward more carbon-intensive coal power.

While the ruling came as a blow to climate activists, there is increasing momentum in state, federal, and international courts to force decarbonization. In 2020, the Dutch Supreme Court upheld a ruling ordering the nation’s government to reduce its emissions by 25% from 1990 levels, and the International Court of Justice will hold hearings next month to weigh in on whether member states have an obligation to take climate action. In the United States, Montana’s courts ruled the state has an obligation to maintain a clean environment, and the state of Hawaiʻi settled with youth climate activists in a case over the state’s decarbonization efforts.

In a statement after its legal victory, Shell touted its internal initiatives to reduce emissions. But the company, which is responsible for an estimated 2% of the world’s total emissions, rejected an effort by activist shareholders to force Shell to align its emissions reductions plan with the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement. Shell currently plans to reach net-zero emissions by 2050.

PLUS:

TIME magazine published its annual Time 100 list of the world’s most influential people since 1999. But last year, TIME expanded its offerings, debuting the first Time 100 Climate list of leaders in the climate business space. The 2024 edition is out, and the list features multiple former Climate One guests including Tzeporah Berman, JB Straubel, Tom Steyer, Adam Met, and Wanjira Mathai.

Steyer, who was named to the list alongside Galvanize Climate Solutions co-chair Katie Hall, sat down in-person with co-host Greg Dalton for a conversation about the role finance will play in the fight against climate change. Their discussion, which perfectly complements the Time 100 Climate list, is available wherever you listen to podcasts. Congrats to all the nominees!

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Not only will you have a place to hang out with fellow climate nerds, but you’ll also see Climate One staff floating in and out as well, making our Discord server the perfect place for you to share your burning idea for a new episode of Climate One. See you online!