Reuters †
Written by Anthony Deutsch and Simon Joseph
AMSTERDAM/LONDON (Reuters) – The Dutch chapter of Friends of the Earth, an environmental advocacy group that won a legal victory over Royal Dutch Shell last year, launched a campaign on Thursday targeting 30 major greenhouse gas emitters.
Milieudefensie chose to focus on Netherlands-based companies, and in May the court ruled that Shell should reduce its environmental impact.
In a letter to the heads of these companies, the NGO called for the publication of comprehensive plans that would allow the Paris Agreement to cut its emissions by 45% by 2030, compared to the target for 2015. Failure to publish such a plan could lead to legal action, says Pere de Rijk, one of the leaders of Milli Defense.
“In the end, we are very clear that we are ready to go to court if necessary. But of course we hope that these companies will act on their own.”
“We are ready to engage in talks, but we are also in a hurry, so we will not agree to talks for talks,” he added.
Shell has appealed a court decision in The Hague to cut emissions under the Paris Agreement.
Companies targeted by the new Militofenciy campaign include financial institutions such as ABN Amro, distributors such as Aholt Delhaise, energy producers, construction and public works groups, entrepreneurs and KLM, the Dutch subsidiary of Air France-KLM.
“You are running a company that controls and affects a significant amount of carbon dioxide emissions. A company that can and will contribute to the development of the organization needed to prevent dangerous climate change,” the NGO letter from Reuters said in a statement. “
Milieudefensie, who claims several companies contacted her after a court ruling against Shell, has given the target companies until April 15 to submit their seasonal plans.
KLM said it could not comment until the letter was officially received, but indicated it was on a “net zero” path and planned to increase its use of “renewable” fuels.
ABN Amro said it supports efforts to control global warming and is working to reduce emissions through its credit policy.
Aholt Delhaise said the message has not yet arrived.
MilliDefenci has called on the Dutch government to incorporate the Paris Agreement into Dutch law to ensure compliance between companies.
(French version edited by Marc Angrand and Blandin Hinault)
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