Share this on social media
Environmentalists, farmers win Dutch court case over Shell Nigeria spills
(Reuters, 31 Jan 2021) Farmers win damages in major case against oil giant over ecological damage in the Niger Delta.
A Dutch appeals court on Friday held Royal Dutch Shell's Nigerian subsidiary responsible for multiple oil pipeline leaks in the Niger Delta and ordered it to pay unspecified damages to farmers, in a victory for environmentalists.
The case was brought in 2008 by four farmers and environmental group Friends of the Earth, seeking reparations for lost income from contaminated land and waterways in the region, the heart of Nigeria's oil industry.
Although only Shell subsidiary SPDC was found to be directly responsible, the Dutch ruling could open the door for more environmental cases against oil companies.
It also adds to Shell's legal woes. In November, it lost a Nigerian high court case that could lead to $44 million in damages for spills.
In March, a Milan court is set to deliver a verdict in one of the oil industry's biggest ever corruption trials in Italy, involving Italy's Eni and Shell.
External link
Reuters, 31 Jan 2021: Environmentalists, farmers win Dutch court case over Shell Nigeria spills
More Related News
climate and environmental litigation
23 Apr 2024: South Korean court hears children's climate change case against government
23 Apr 2024: ‘Children won’t be able to survive’: inter-American court to hear from climate victims
12 Apr 2024: Climate verdict for Swiss women a warning for European states, oil industry
9 Apr 2024: Human rights violated by inaction on climate, ECHR rules in landmark case
9 Apr 2024: Top Europe court to issue landmark climate verdicts
5 Apr 2024: Should big oil be tried for homicide?
19 Mar 2024: Tesla EV gigafactory drives Germany’s latest climate justice struggle
1 Mar 2024: People displaced by climate crisis to testify in first-of-its-kind hearing in US
20 Feb 2024: UK ministers in court again over net zero plans
8 Feb 2024: Religious investors urge Exxon to drop lawsuit against activist shareholders
30 Jan 2024: Activist investors fret over Exxon Mobil's lawsuit bypassing US regulator
12 Jan 2024: Dutch state sued by Caribbean island residents over climate policies
30 Nov 2023: German climate policy insufficient, court rules
9 Nov 2023: Shell sues Greenpeace for $2.1m in damages over fossil fuel protest in North Sea
27 Oct 2023: Stop locking young people out of legal process in climate cases, say experts
10 Oct 2023: Why money matters when taking climate change to court
28 Sep 2023: Lawsuit in EU court by young Portuguese, largest climate case ever
26 Sep 2023: Belgian state sued over climate policy shortcomings
25 Sep 2023: Why Portuguese youth are suing European countries over wildfires
14 Sep 2023: Young people to take 32 European countries to court over climate policies
12 Sep 2023: Small islands slam ‘endless’ climate talks at landmark maritime court hearing
1 Sep 2023: The people of Ecuador just made climate justice history. The world can follow
22 Aug 2023: Q&A: A legal scholar calls the ruling in the Montana youth climate lawsuit ‘huge’
30 Jun 2023: Spain proposes improved 2030 climate target as it awaits Supreme Court ruling
23 Jun 2023: Airlines sued in Europe over ‘greenwashing’ claims
1 Jun 2023: Delta Air Lines faces lawsuit over $1bn carbon neutrality claim
22 May 2023: Big polluters’ share prices fall after climate lawsuits, study finds
11 May 2023: Italian oil firm Eni faces lawsuit alleging early knowledge of climate crisis
5 May 2023: Belgian lawyer takes climate change battle to court
25 Apr 2023: US supreme court denies oil companies’ bid to move venue of climate lawsuit
30 Mar 2023: UN adopts landmark resolution on climate justice
28 Mar 2023: 'Climate lockdown' anger drives Swiss grandmother to sue Bern at EU court
28 Mar 2023: Climate in court: The Paris Agreement’s role in safeguarding human rights
17 Mar 2023: Biden administration tells Supreme Court big oil climate cases belong in state court
28 Feb 2023: Climate campaigners sue BNP Paribas over fossil fuel finance
24 Jan 2023: Exxon’s predictions about the climate crisis may have increased its legal peril
23 Dec 2022: Big oil is behind conspiracy to deceive public, first climate racketeering lawsuit says
11 Oct 2022: Courts or policies: which matters more for climate action in South Asia?
30 Sep 2022: Environmental rights are now human rights. What does this mean for climate litigation?
27 Sep 2022: German citizens sue government for right to breathe clean air
22 Sep 2022: Paris and New York join climate litigation against TotalEnergies
30 Aug 2022: How China’s courts implement climate policy
26 Aug 2022: Berlin’s transport sector emergency plan fails to pass muster
21 Jul 2022: Chinese court rules bitcoin mining harms the climate
8 Jul 2022: I led the US lawsuit against big tobacco for its harmful lies. Big oil is next
7 Jul 2022: Brazilian court world’s first to recognise Paris Agreement as human rights treaty
21 Jun 2022: Young people go to European court to stop treaty that aids fossil fuel investors
9 Jun 2022: Climate lawyers challenge EU support for gas pipelines
2 Jun 2022: Climate damage case breaks ground with German judges' visit to Peru glacier
6 May 2022: EU citizens may sue countries for health-damaging dirty air, top court adviser says
22 Mar 2022: NGOs sue Thailand government for failing to protect Thais from air pollution
15 Mar 2022: Shell directors sued for ‘failing to prepare company for net zero’
24 Feb 2022: Supreme court case could restrict Biden’s effort to tackle climate cris
20 Jan 2022: Judge rejects campaigners’ bid to curb UK oil production
13 Jan 2022: Why Shell is becoming a softer target for climate campaigners
13 Jan 2022: Activists behind Shell climate verdict target 30 multinationals
21 Dec 2021: Climate lawyer loses supreme court appeal over Heathrow leak
10 Dec 2021: UK tax breaks for oil and gas under scrutiny from climate activists
6 Dec 2021: As Delhi chokes, India’s supreme court is grappling with the air pollution crisis
6 Dec 2021: Environmental activists challenge ‘unlawful’ UK fossil fuel plan in high court
25 Nov 2021: Young activists sue Boris Johnson for failure to tackle climate crisis
18 Nov 2021: South Africa taken to court over plan for new coal power
18 Oct 2021: French court orders state to honour its climate commitments
11 Oct 2021: UN declares access to a clean environment a human right
4 Oct 2021: Is it time for the World Court to weigh in on climate change?
31 Aug 2021: Permit for Germany’s newest coal-fired power plant was invalid, court rules
15 Jul 2021: EU throws open courtroom doors for new wave of citizen climate litigations
30 Jun 2021: Shell court ruling is a wake-up call for governments to end fossil fuel support
30 Jun 2021: Big oil and gas kept a dirty secret for decades. Now they may pay the price
17 Jun 2021: NGOs take Norway to European Court over Arctic oil exploration
10 Jun 2021: Poland faces first citizen lawsuits over climate change
10 Jun 2021: Shell chief vows to bolster emissions strategy after court ruling
3 Jun 2021: Germany convicted for breaching EU air quality law
1 Jun 2021: Guyanese citizens challenge ExxonMobil offshore drilling on climate grounds
1 Jun 2021: Climate lawsuits snowball as South Americans seek a healthy environment
28 May 2021: Why are climate campaigners turning to the courts?
27 May 2021: Australian court says mine approvals must consider climate harm
27 May 2021: Shell ordered to slash emissions 45% by 2030 in historic court ruling
25 May 2021: Poland will not comply with EU top court ruling on Turow, PM says
25 May 2021: EU court orders immediate halt to Turów mine in Poland
24 May 2021: EU court orders immediate halt to Turów mine in Poland
20 May 2021: Fed up with toxic air, Jakarta residents holding breath for court ruling
17 May 2021: U.S. Supreme Court backs energy companies over Baltimore in climate case
6 May 2021: Germany raises ambition to net zero by 2045 after landmark court ruling
29 Apr 2021: ‘Historic’ German ruling says climate goals not tough enough
13 Apr 2021: Serbia forges ahead with China-backed coal power plant
5 Apr 2021: UK court urged to respect 1.5°C climate limit
8 Mar 2021: EU court raps Britain for air pollution
8 Mar 2021: EU court raps Britain for air pollution
1 Mar 2021: Since 2018, climate legal cases in Asia have risen by 185%
1 Mar 2021: 'A duty of care': Australian teenagers take their climate crisis plea to court
25 Feb 2021: Corporate climate polluters must pay for damage
4 Feb 2021: French court rules France not doing enough on climate change
28 Jan 2021: Monster serbian coal plants face legal action after ending hundreds of lives early
28 Jan 2021: European investment bank loses landmark case on ‘green’ scrutiny
21 Jan 2021: Legal bid to stop UK building Europe's biggest gas power plant fails
21 Dec 2020: Shell faces Dutch court in case testing how Paris climate goals apply to businesses
21 Dec 2020: WA court challenge launched against huge Burrup Hub gas project
17 Dec 2020: INSIGHT-Climate change turns up the heat on ad industry
17 Dec 2020: Top UK court overturns block on Heathrow's third runway
17 Dec 2020: Ella Kissi-Debrah's mother calls for Clean Air Act in wake of landmark ruling
7 Dec 2020: Pollution inquest: Did a 9-year-old girl die from toxic London air?
30 Nov 2020: Shell in court over claims it hampered fossil fuels phase-out
23 Nov 2020: French court gives government three months to prove effective climate policy
19 Nov 2020: Bolsonaro’s attack on the Amazon breaches Brazil’s constitution, climate lawyers argue
2 Nov 2020: Australian pension fund settles landmark climate lawsuit
29 Oct 2020: Swiss seniors sue government over climate change at European court
12 Oct 2020: UK Supreme Court hears climate case on Heathrow airport expansion
24 Sep 2020: Swiss appeals court reverses acquittal of Credit Suisse climate protesters
17 Sep 2020: Greenpeace targets Spain with climate change lawsuit
8 Sep 2020: Campaigners start legal challenge to UK's $1bn grant to Mozambique gas project
4 Sep 2020: Mexican court to hear youths' climate change case against government
4 Sep 2020: Six Portuguese youth file ‘unprecedented’ climate lawsuit against 33 countries
16 Jun 2020: Coronavirus: UK has legal duty to review air pollution targets, say lawyers
28 May 2020: U.S. states sue Trump administration over fuel efficiency rollback 2
26 May 2020: UK approval for biggest gas power station in Europe ruled legal
4 May 2020: Europe's largest gas plant - legal fight continues
26 Mar 2020: U.S. court orders full environmental review of Dakota Access pipeline
6 Mar 2020: The government must abandon its fossil fuel power projects. If not, we’ll sue
28 Feb 2020: The death of Heathrow’s third runway sends a clear message ahead of Cop26
28 Feb 2020: The Netherlands faces pressure as global ‘test case’ for deep emissions cuts in 2020
28 Feb 2020: Heathrow airport expansion is unlawful, says UK court
25 Feb 2020: Greenpeace asks Norway's supreme court to rule on Arctic oil
