Milieudefensie (the Dutch arm of the Friends of the Earth International network) has formally served Shell with a new climate lawsuit, demanding the London-based energy giant abandon plans to develop approximately 700 undeveloped oil and gas fields worldwide. The group, citing IPCC data and a 2025 study co-authored with Global Witness, argues that extracting fossil fuels from those fields would release 5.2 billion tonnes of CO₂ — 36 times the Netherlands' annual emissions — and that existing fields already hold enough supply to meet demand for decades. The case, which is expected to reach a Dutch court in The Hague within months, revives a landmark legal battle: in 2021 a Dutch court ordered Shell to cut emissions 45 percent by 2030, a ruling later overturned on appeal in 2024, with a final cassation case still pending before the Dutch Supreme Court.