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Green group to file climate lawsuit against Shell

Friends of the Earth Netherlands plans to file a lawsuit against Royal Dutch Shell PLC, saying the company has failed to address climate change.

According to a May 28 news release from the environmental group, Shell has rejected, in writing, its demands that the company align its actions with the Paris Agreement on climate change, reduce oil and gas investments and slash its emissions to zero by 2050.

Shell did not respond to an inquiry as of press time but issued a May 28 letter to Friends of the Earth Netherlands.

"We do not believe that these claims have merit; nor do we consider that the courts provide the right forum to advance the global energy transition," said the letter, which was signed by Linda Szymanski, company secretary at Shell.

Although Shell reiterated in early April plans to reduce the carbon footprint of the energy products it sells by 50% by 2050, the company has come under fire recently from investors who wanted Shell to pass a resolution to set more stringent emissions reductions targets.

In mid-April, Shell's board of directors advised shareholders to vote against the resolution, which was filed in November 2017 by Follow This, a Dutch group of green shareholders in Shell. The Follow This resolution called on Shell to set and publish more aggressive targets that align with the goal of the Paris Agreement on climate change to limit global warming to below 2 degrees C.

Shell's shareholders rejected the resolution by a majority vote of 95% at the company's general annual meeting May 22.