Friday, May 28, 2021

Energy 144, Shell and oil companies are penalized because consumers and motorists use their products

The climate alarm activists are winning more often these days. They targetted the big oil companies to be penalized for their "climate crimes" because people find their products very useful -- for ordinary cars and motorcycles to tractors, harvesters, buses, boats, planes, etc. (This Pixar planes and cars from Worthpoint).

My three related articles on this:

1. Climate Tricks 51, The CCC, Greenpeace and fossil fuels, February 01, 2016

2. Climate Tricks 56, Using the CHR for climate harassment, July 30, 2016

3. CHR investigates ‘carbon majors’ by using more fossil fuels 
January 7, 2019 | 9:41 pm 
https://www.bworldonline.com/chr-investigates-carbon-majors-by-using-more-fossil-fuels/

This week, they won. See these reports and opinions below. So the climate activists like Greenpeace and UN, governments climate negotiators use lots of fossil fuels with their frequent travels worldwide (pre-pandemic, slowly recovering now) and it's the fault of the oil companies, hahaha, what a hypocrisy.
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Shell Ordered by Dutch Court to Cut Carbon Emissions
Lawyers say the ruling, which Shell can appeal, could set a precedent in other Western jurisdictions
By Sarah McFarlane  Updated May 26, 2021 3:01 pm ET
wsj.com/articles/shell-ordered-by-dutch-court-to-cut-carbon-emissions-11622038961

The ruling, issued by the district court in The Hague and stemming from a lawsuit brought by environmental groups, found Shell must curb its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030, compared with 2019 levels. 

Oil Giants Are Dealt Major Defeats on Climate Change as Pressures Intensify
Shell and Exxon lose landmark decisions on the same day, demonstrating growing threats to fossil-fuel companies from activists and investors
By Sarah McFarlane and Christopher M. Matthews   Updated May 26, 2021 7:46 pm ET 
https://www.wsj.com/articles/oil-giants-are-dealt-devastating-blows-on-climate-change-as-pressures-intensify-11622065455

...in the U.S., an activist investor won at least two seats on Exxon’s board, a historic defeat for the oil giant that will likely require it to alter its fossil-fuel focused strategy.

The back-to-back, watershed decisions demonstrated how dramatically the landscape is shifting for oil-and-gas companies as they face increasing pressure from environmentalists, investors, lenders, politicians and regulators to transition to cleaner forms of energy.

Dutch Court Orders Shell To Aggressively Cut Carbon Emissions In Landmark Decision
BY TYLER DURDEN   WEDNESDAY, MAY 26, 2021 - 08:40 PM 
https://www.zerohedge.com/energy/dutch-court-orders-shell-aggressively-cut-carbon-emissions-landmark-decision

The big change here is that until now oil companies have mostly faced lawsuits related to environmental damages that they specifically caused, like an oil spill. Now, court rulings could allow activists to influence energy company policy more directly, with courts threatening massive fines if the firms don't comply.

Activist Wins Exxon Board Seats After Questioning Oil Giant’s Climate Strategy
Engine No. 1’s victory in one of the most expensive proxy fights ever is unprecedented setback for Exxon and CEO Darren Woods
By Christopher M. Matthews  Updated May 26, 2021 6:17 pm ET 
https://www.wsj.com/articles/activist-wins-exxon-board-seats-after-questioning-oil-giants-climate-strategy-11622050087

An activist investor’s successful campaign to win seats on the board of Exxon Mobil Corp. represents a historic defeat for the oil giant, one that will likely force it to more directly confront growing shareholder concerns about climate change.

What The Shell Climate Case Means For Big Oil
By Cyril Widdershoven - May 27, 2021, 1:00 PM CDT 
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/What-The-Shell-Climate-Case-Means-For-Big-Oil.html

One group that is likely to be celebrating this ruling is the national oil companies around the world. Rulings like this reduce the market power of IOCs and independents, leaving national oil companies and private-equity to supply, produce, and rule oil and gas in the future. When looking at the legal basis of the court order, it could be argued that moving all oil and gas volumes into the hands of national oil companies could result in exactly the opposite of what the court was attempting to achieve.

Shell’s Court Rebuke Marks the Start of a New War Against Big Oil
The group that won a landmark climate ruling by a Dutch judge is already working on cases against other fossil fuel companies
By Laura Millan Lombrana  May 27, 2021, 8:18 PM GMT+8 
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-05-27/shell-s-court-rebuke-marks-the-start-of-a-new-war-against-big-oil

“We are already supporting other organizations to set up similar cases in their countries,” Donald Pols, director of Friends of the Earth Netherlands said. 

“This court case and verdict open a whole new approach to climate litigation and because of its success it will be copied by other civil society organizations in the rest of the world,” Pols said.

Expect A Wave Of Climate Lawsuits Against Big Oil Following Shell's Case
By Tsvetana Paraskova - May 27, 2021, 11:00 AM CDT 
https://oilprice.com/Energy/Energy-General/Expect-A-Wave-Of-Climate-Lawsuits-Against-Big-Oil-Following-Shells-Case.html

Friends of the Earth Netherlands filed the lawsuit against Shell in the Netherlands and is now helping other organizations to force emissions reductions at other companies in other countries...

Commenting on the Dutch court ruling against Shell, Andy Palmen, interim director of Greenpeace Netherlands, said: “We can hold multinational corporations worldwide accountable for the climate crisis.”

Meanwhile, WTI has touched $67+ per barrel today, highest this year. Could be a reaction to these two events. The climate alarmism activists can only attack western based companies but they may never have the courage to do that companies owned by the governments of Russia, Saudi, Iran, Venezuela, China, etc.
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See also:
Energy 141, Carbon-methane-nitrogen tax, environmental damage of RE, March 09, 2021 
Energy 142, Earth Day, Miscellaneous energy articles, April 28, 2021 
Energy 143, IEA embraces darkness economics, May 23, 2021.

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