San Diego, CA

Oil giant Shell wins appeal against landmark Dutch climate ruling to slash emissions

Published

1 year ago

November 12, 2024

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Oil giant Shell wins appeal against landmark Dutch climate ruling to slash emissions

A Dutch court on Tuesday dismissed a landmark climate ruling against Shell, after the oil giant was ordered to drastically reduce its global carbon emissions back in 2021.
The outcome marks the latest twist in a precedent-setting case that could have far-reaching implications for the future of climate litigation.
In May 2021, The Hague district court ruled that Shell must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45% from 2019 levels by 2030.

Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images

Oil storage silos beyond waterlogged land at the Shell Plc Pernis refinery in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024.

A Dutch court on Tuesday dismissed a landmark climate ruling against Shell, after the oil giant was ordered to drastically reduce its global carbon emissions back in 2021.

The outcome, which comes during the opening days of the COP29 climate summit in Azerbaijan, marks the latest twist in a precedent-setting case that could have far-reaching implications for the future of climate litigation.

The appeals court in The Hague said that while Shell is required to reduce its carbon emissions, it could not determine the extent of these cuts. The case against Shell, therefore, was dismissed entirely.

In May 2021, The Hague district court ruled that Shell must reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45% from 2019 levels by 2030.

The verdict, which came when Shell had its headquarters in The Hague, also said the company was responsible for all emissions across its value chain, including those from the products they sell — known as Scope 3 emissions.

It was the first time in history that a company was found to have been legally obliged to align its policies with the Paris Agreement, a framework which seeks to avoid the worst of what the climate crisis has in store by limiting the average global temperature increase to between 1.5 and 2 degrees Celsius.

The ruling was regarded as a watershed moment in the climate battle and sparked a wave of lawsuits against other fossil fuel companies.

The case was brought against Shell in 2019 by Milieudefensie, an environmental campaign group and the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth, alongside six other bodies and more than 17,000 Dutch citizens.

An appeal against Tuesday’s outcome could still be brought before the Netherlands’ Supreme Court, although Milieudefensie has not said whether it plans to launch an appeal.

“The court of appeal denied the claims of Milieudefensie because the court was unable to establish that the social standard of care entails an obligation for Shell to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45%, or some other percentage,” the court said in a statement.

What’s more, the court said it deemed an obligation for Shell to sharply reduce its Scope 3 emissions by a particular percentage as “ineffective” because other companies could step in to take over that trade and “this would consequently not result in a reduction in CO2 emissions.”

Shell welcomed the decision to overturn the 2021 verdict.

“We are pleased with the court’s decision, which we believe is the right one for the global energy transition, the Netherlands and our company,” Shell CEO Wael Sawan said in a statement.

“Our target to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 remains at the heart of Shell’s strategy and is transforming our business,” he added.

Shares of London-listed Shell were trading slightly lower on the news.

A setback for the climate movement

Shell appealed the 2021 decision and subsequently moved its headquarters to the U.K., a relocation that was criticized for being partly motivated by the courtroom defeat. The Hague district court ruling had only been legally binding in the Netherlands.

In appeal hearings held earlier this year, the British oil major argued that the case had no legal basis.

Shell’s lawyers said demands for companies to curb greenhouse gas emissions could not be made by courts, but only by governments, Reuters reported. The company also said the court ruling would force it to shrink its business without any benefit to the fight against climate change.

Freek Van Den Bergh | Afp | Getty Images
Director of Milieudefensie Donald Pols is seen before the start of the appeal trial of the climate case that the organization had filed against Shell, in The Hague on April 2, 2024.

The burning of coal, oil and gas is by far the largest contributor to the climate crisis, accounting for more than three-quarters of global greenhouse gas emissions.

“This ruling affects us deeply,” Donald Pols, director of Milieudefensie, said in a statement.

“It is a setback for us, the climate movement and millions of people around the world who are worried. But anyone who knows us a little knows that we never give up,” Pols said.

“It is encouraging that the judge determines that Shell is responsible for reducing emissions and that companies must also respect human rights. It is a marathon and not a sprint and the race is not yet run,” he added.

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San Diego, CA

One killed in fiery three-vehicle crash on 805 freeway in San Diego

Published

7 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

One killed in fiery three-vehicle crash on 805 freeway in San Diego

A person was killed Sunday in a fiery three-vehicle crash on the Jacob Dekema (805) Freeway in San Diego, authorities said.

The crash occurred at 4:22 a.m. Sunday on the northbound freeway south of Miramar Road, the California Highway Patrol reported.

At least one vehicle struck the center divider and caught fire, the CHP said.

The numbers one through five lanes of the northbound freeway were closed at 6:01 a.m. for an unknown duration.

No further information was immediately available.

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San Diego, CA

Veterans weigh in on U.S. involvement in Iran

Published

19 hours ago

March 8, 2026

Press Room

Veterans weigh in on U.S. involvement in Iran

“It seems pointless. They change the reason for aggression against Iran daily,” Army Veteran, Forest Gray said.

Gray was among dozens of protestors who gathered at Memorial Community Park in Logan Heights Saturday calling for an end to the war in Iran.

Seeing the conflict play out is personal for him. Gray served eight years in the front lines in the Middle East.

“I fought in Iraq and you know, everyone wears the uniform, and gets deployed, we kind of expect and accept that we have to put our lives on the line, but ideally it should be a sense for a greater good. I don’t see what greater good there is here,” Gray said.

Gray is not alone.

Jonathan Chavez who served in the U.S. Marine Corps at Miramar Base in San Diego also disagrees with the U.S. involvement in Iran.

“No one wants these wars, no one has asked for these wars. Public opinion in this country is also very clear, the vast majority of Americans do not support these conflicts,” Chavez said.

Some Iranian Americans took a different stance last week, as hundreds took the streets of Clairemont.

“It was a feeling of euphoria knowing that my people are free, knowing that a dictator that has ruled Iran with iron fists for well over 37 years, has been killed, has been pushed out of the power and we can have a democratic Iran,” Bobby Shah told NBC 7.

Despite the sentiment, Saturday’s protest was hosted by an organization opposed to war in the Middle East.

They used signs and chants to make their stance clear: Stop the War in Iran.

Watching from a distance we found Marine Corps Veteran Chris Mondestin.

Even though he was not part of the protest, he also opposes the war saying the conflict should stay between Iran and Israel and the U.S. should stay out of it.

“It’s real scary. It’s real scary because I know there’s a lot of people that are truly against this war, but they don’t have much of a voice. That’s why I was kind of happy to see this, because we do have a voice. We just got to speak loud,” Mondestin said.

He also worries about the effects the war could have on the country’s safety, economy, and relationship with countries in the Middle East.

According to Iranian Diaspora Dashboard from UCLA’s Center of Near Eastern Studies, about 600,000 Iranians live in the U.S. and about half of them are in California.

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San Diego, CA

San Diego’s ‘nude’ beach going strong nearly 50 years after it was outlawed

Published

1 day ago

March 7, 2026

Press Room

San Diego’s ‘nude’ beach going strong nearly 50 years after it was outlawed

Nearly 50 years ago, the city of San Diego put an end to the nation’s first municipally recognized “clothing-optional” beach, banning nudity on a 900-foot strip of shoreline at Black’s Beach.

But today, beachgoers continue to stroll, sunbathe and frolic buck naked on that stretch of sand, in defiance of the law.

I can attest to this illegal behavior, having witnessed it myself. Let me explain.

During a recent visit to San Diego with my girlfriend, we came upon Black’s Beach at the base of 300-foot cliffs below the Torrey Pines Glider Port. No sign at the parking lot alerted us to the beach’s history. As we set down our beach chairs, we spotted two fellow beachgoers strolling by, sans bathing suits. And then a couple more lounging in their birthday suits. And then a few more.

“Didn’t you research this beach before we came?” my chagrined girlfriend asked.

Cue me, looking befuddled. Had I done my due diligence, this is what I would have learned.

The counterculture days

It was the 1970s in San Diego. Antiwar protesters marched in the streets. The Earth movement and the hippy-themed musical “Hair” were all the rage. “Nature freaks” roamed the city, said Carol Olten, a historian for the La Jolla Historical Society.

Amid the counterculture vibe, the San Diego City Council voted in 1974 to create what is believed to be the nation’s first “clothing-optional” beach. Secluded at the base of 300-foot cliffs and hard to access, Black’s Beach was the prime spot for it.

But a first-anniversary party at the beach — attracting more than 15,000 nude and semi-nude folks, playing volleyball, tug-of-war and wandering beyond the designated 900-foot boundaries — sparked opposition, primarily from wealthy homeowners on the bluffs above, who complained of drug use, sexual deviates and smoking. (No such problems existed, according to newspaper coverage and lifeguards at the time.)

Following a citywide advisory vote that favored banning nudity, the San Diego City Council ended the “clothing-optional” zone. Fines began at $15.

Who was Black’s Beach named for

William H. Black, a “rich guy” who made his money from oil in Texas, bought about 250 acres on the bluffs above the beach, according to Olten. “His two main interests were thoroughbreds and fancy cars,” she added.

Maddie Jarrell, left, from Carmel Valley, and Blake McDevitt, right, from Cardiff, walk up the path from Black’s Beach in La Jolla in October 2019.

(Howard Lipin / San Diego Union-Tribune)

Enforcement of the nudity ban

California is home to 32 nude beaches, according to Californiabeaches.com. The website notes that public nudity is banned across the state, but enforcement is mostly limited to state beaches. Black’s Beach, which is on city land, borders Torrey Pines State Beach. Neither San Diego police nor state park rangers would disclose how often they patrol or cite nudists at Black Beach, but locals say it is very rare. Even the city’s tourism agency mocks the enforcement of the nudity ban, saying on its website that “the only real deterrent” to going nude at Black’s Beach is “the hike to get there.”

Running from the law

Enforcement of the nudity ban has never been a high priority, but in March 1994 police rushed onto the beach in force, with a helicopter buzzing overhead. A suspected car thief had scaled down the cliffs, with police in hot pursuit, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. To lose his pursuers, the thief shed his clothes to blend in among the nude sunbathers. When that didn’t work, he tried to swim away but was caught shivering in the surf.

“We arrested him naked,” a police spokesman said.

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