Landmark Decision Handed Down in Shell Emissions Case

Once again, a case has come down that could hurt the Democrat agenda on renewable energy.

A Dutch appeals court overturned a ruling against Shell that would have required the company to significantly reduce its carbon emissions.

This is a ruling that will not only impact fossil fuel production in the Netherlands, but could have a trickledown effect globally.

Not So Fast

If you are a regular reader of my reports, you already know I have nothing against renewable energy.

I actually fully support it, but I believe it needs to be used in conjunction with fossil fuels, not as a complete replacement.

Instead of pitting these two energy sectors against each other, we should promote their collaboration to find the best solutions for the lowest cost of energy production.

A Dutch court apparently sees this much the same way, overturning a lower court ruling that would have required Shell to cut its emissions by 45% from its 2019 levels by 2030.

To do so would have cost significant investment, all of which would be passed on to consumers, driving energy costs up even more than they already are.

Donald Pols, Friends of the Earth director in the Netherlands, was obviously disappointed in the ruling.

He stated, "This hurts. At the same time, we see that this case has ensured that major polluters are not immune and has further stimulated the debate about their responsibility in combating dangerous climate change. That is why we continue to tackle major polluters, such as Shell."

After taking office, Donald Trump is expected to remove many of the regulations that Biden put in place via Executive Order, so we are going to see a lot more cases like this going before the courts.

As I stated above, I would really like to see a partnership developed between renewable energy and fossil fuel companies. This way, we could move productive policies forward rather than staring at ground zero every time a new administration comes into power.

That, however, would require some common sense in our government, something that simply does not exist today.