Climate change litigation on the rise in Europe Out-Law Analysis | 22 Jul 2021 | 1:16 pm | 5 min. read The catastrophic impact of recent floods in Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg will embolden activists who feel more needs to be done to address the risks of climate change. Many activists have already gone to court in Europe to force governments and businesses to take more radical action to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions or pay damages. This trend is only likely to grow. The admissibility of claims In May 2021, the district court in The Hague ruled that Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) must cut its global carbon emissions by 45% relative to 2019 levels by 2030.