Environmental campaign group Milieudefensie is launching a new legal case against Shell in a bid to force the energy company to drastically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions and stop developing new oil and gas fields.

The group previously lost a separate case against Shell, which is now awaiting a ruling from the Supreme Court. In that case, Milieudefensie argued that Shell should reduce its emissions by 45% in line with the Paris climate agreement.

The new lawsuit is based on a legal point raised by appeal court judges in 2024, when they ruled against Milieudefensie.

The court said at the time that a company can be compelled to take measures to protect the environment that go beyond current legislation. However, it added that requiring a specific percentage reduction in emissions was not realistic.

“There is currently not enough unanimity about the specific reduction percentage which an individual company such as Shell should meet,” the court stated. That reasoning, Milieudefensie argues, suggests the outcome could have been different had the case focused on banning new oil and gas fields rather than setting an emissions target.