Dutch court to decide if Shell is legally responsible for climate change By Hugo Miller and Laura Hurst on 5/25/2021 Shell FPSO operating offshore Nigeria (Bloomberg) --A Dutch court verdict against Royal Dutch Shell Plc will determine whether it has a legal responsibility for climate change, in a case that will be watched by Big Oil executives globally. A panel of judges in a lower court in The Hague will rule on Wednesday in a case being followed closely by environmental campaigners too. While the verdict is only legally binding in the Netherlands, itâs set to be scrutinized as a new area of litigation and may guide deliberations by judges elsewhere.