A lower court had ordered the company to cut emissions by 45 percent by 2030, but the oil giant argued that a single firm should not be hit with arbitrary pollution-reduction requirements.

Oil giant Shell emerged victorious Tuesday from a Dutch court where it was appealing a ruling ordering it to slash its global carbon emissions by 45% by the end of the decade in line with the Paris climate agreement.

A Dutch appeals court on Tuesday overturned a landmark ruling that ordered energy company Shell to cut its carbon emissions by net 45% by 2030 compared to 2019 levels, while saying that "protection against dangerous climate change is a human right.

Oil and gas major Shell on Tuesday won an appeal against a landmark ruling that required it to accelerate carbon reduction efforts, dealing a blow to campaigners who have turned to legal channels to pursue climate action.

But as world leaders gather for the UN’s Cop29 climate summit, the Dutch court of appeal annulled the previous verdict, ruling that – despite Shell having a responsibility to cut emissions – it was unable to determine a fitting reduction target for oil and gas companies, based on the available science and data.

Oil giant Shell has won a landmark case in the Dutch courts, overturning an earlier ruling requiring it to cut its carbon emissions by 45%.

The 2021 ruling was noteworthy, as it was the first time a court made a private company obey the 2015 Paris Agreement in addition to Dutch law. However, the appeals court judge said that while Shell had an obligation to reduce emissions,

The decision is a reversal of the 2021 verdict that had ordered Shell to slash its absolute carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 relative to 2019 levels.