By Ron Bousso
LONDON, June 24 (Reuters) - A Dutch activist group that won
a legal battle against Royal Dutch Shell over its
climate strategy has urged the company to ditch its appeal and
hold joint talks on how to reduce its emissions, according to a
letter seen by Reuters.
A court in The Hague ordered Shell on May 26 to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions from burning oil and gas by 45% by
2030, significantly faster than its current plans, in a landmark
case filed by seven groups including Greenpeace and Friends of
the Earth Netherlands.
Shell CEO Ben van Beurden said the company planned to appeal
the ruling but that the Anglo-Dutch company would also
accelerate its energy-transition strategy and deepen emission
cuts.
The court ruling came amid mounting pressure from investors
and activist groups on the world top oil companies including
Exxon Mobil to tackle their emissions.
In the letter sent on Thursday, Friends of the Earth
Netherlands called on Shell not to appeal against the ruling.
"It is important to act swiftly and not to wait for legal
proceedings to finish. We have very little time left to turn the
tide," the group said in the letter addressed to van Beurden.
"We are convinced that it is in everyone's interest -
especially that of the climate - to avoid an appeal."
Friends of the Earth Netherlands said it would be
"constructive" for both sides to "discuss the new reality in
light of the verdict, its implementation, and our shared
interest in preventing dangerous climate change."
Shell said in response that it still expected to appeal the
ruling.
"We agree that urgent action is needed on climate change
and, while we expect to appeal the ruling, we want to rise to
the challenge and accelerate our existing strategy," it added.
"We have previously offered to engage with Milieudefensie
(Friends of the Earth) and will of course consider their
proposal."
(Reporting by Ron Bousso; Editing by Pravin Char)
