Climate liability: a duty of care for companies

This article examines the responsibility of companies in the context of climate change litigation. It focuses on the Shell v. Milieudefensie case before the Court of Appeal The Hague. The Court assessed that the social duty of care implies that companies are obliged to contribute to the mitigation of dangerous climate change. The analysis situates the judgment within broader developments in corporate sustainability, particularly the influence of soft law instruments such as the UN Guiding Principles and OECD Guidelines. By comparing the decision with Lliuya v. RWE, the article highlights both the potential and the limitations of private law in addressing corporate contributions to global warming.