Opinon: Shell's legal victory is disappointing—but this is not the end for corporate climate litigation

In the first ruling of its kind, the Dutch Hague District Court in 2021 ordered a fossil fuel company, Shell, to slash its emissions. This decision would have required the oil and gas giant to cut its emissions by 45% by 2030 (compared with 2019 levels) across its operations and beyond, including so-called "scope 3 emissions"—those arising from burning the fossil fuels Shell has sold.