74/ ✊👨‍⚖️ As the sculptures outside the 🇳🇱 ⚖️ Supreme Court metaphorically suggest: it is time for judges to unbox the law & use its full force in this case. #ClimateJustice requires ending impunity for climate polluters. (This concludes this live report. Do not hesitate to post any Q. TY for following.)

70/ final words to the representative of that foundation siding with Shell: with a great deal of hand gestures, the lawyer warns against the danger of too rapid a transition given the wobbly nature of renewable energy. A rather low point in today's hearing. But well...

62/ 🤑 🕵️ The NGOs legal team very convincingly exposed Shell's active role in corporate capture of climate policies, esp. lobbying for 🇪🇺EU regulations fitting its interests. It pulled the rub out fromunder Shell's team feet before Shell tried to argue that EU policy is effective & sufficient.

59/ ⏯️ The break is about to end. (We cannot take picture while the hearing is ongoing but here the courtroom where this consequential climate case is being heard. People are now walking back in. Despite the stakes the atmosphere is very cordial here.)

58/ Final fascinating Q by presiding judge: please unpack the relation betwn mandatory emission targets for scope 3 emissions & anticipated reductions of emissions in the transportation sector. ⏸️ The session is then adjourned until 13.30pm. Response after the break: I will continue to report below ⬇️

53/ 🐈‍⬛ 🕊️The foundation is delivering a long presentation echoing many of the arguments already aired by Shell, especially insisting on the importance of keeping energy affordable, trying to deter the judges to "throw the cat among the pigeons", a rather ill-suited allegory for such a foundation...

50/ ...but if there is one adequate allegory comparing energy markets & fossil fuel supplies to waterbeds, it is the one below... The focus on short term revenues has distracted fossil fuel companies away from their duty of care... Time for the courts to reign in these operations.

46/ 🌐 ⚠️ On the other hand, the lawyers warn the judges: Shell is so important to the fossil fuel production of some individual countries that a legal order in this case would threaten the energy choices and security of entire sovereign nations- something that going beyond the remit of a Dutch Court!

45/ 🔄 On one hand, the judges are told that Shell is 𝐟𝐮𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐮𝐛𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐮𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞: if the Court imposes a target for Shell to reduce its emissions, then consumers will simply increase the demand on other competitors and emissions will not fall...

44/ 🌐 According to Shell only "coordinated economy-wide emission reductions targets" can be effective at tackling climate change. As other polluters have done in other cases, Shell is now claiming one thing and its contrary within minutes of the pleadings: Shell is thus also a Shrödinger Company.

⚖️ 🌍 ⚡ 𝐅𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 🇳🇱 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐇𝐚𝐠𝐮𝐞: 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲, 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡 𝐒𝐮𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐫𝐭 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐚𝐥 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝, @milieudefensie.bsky.social et al. v. Shell. #ClimateJustice #ClimateCaseShell 🧵 ⬇️ analysis in thread below

⏰ 👨‍⚖️ 🌐 Starting in 2 hrs: #ClimateJustice hearings at 🇳🇱 Dutch Supreme Court in case v. Shell: for the 1st time a country's highest Court will review whether a fossil fuel company can be required to cut emissions in line with science. 👀 📝 Follow here in real time with context & elements of analysis...

38/ 🇫🇯 Fiji takes the floor first, thanking Pacific students & Vanuatu. Powerful conclusion: "We come to these halls demanding justice, justice that is today grounded in the authoritative voice of the world's highest court. Pacific will not disappear, and neither will our resolve."

36/ 🥁🥁🥁 Now comes the moment of truth: the 🇺🇳 UNGA vote to adopt the resolution as tabled by Vanuatu! And what a success: ✅ 141 in favour, ❌ 8 against, 🙊 28 abstention... 🎉 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐢𝐬 𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐝! 🎉

35/ As a result a new vote will take place now to consider the hostile amendments related to the 2nd operative paragraph and to the 11th operative paragraph (addition of an item on the UNGA agenda). The procedural tricks did not play out well: these amendments are widely rejected!

34/ BUT: here comes an unexpected procedural twist: 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 🇰🇼 Kuwait reintroduce the two amendments that they had reviewed minutes ago... so in practice they seek to bypass the UN General Assembly decision to consider all amendments in bulk. Who spoke of negotiations in good faith?

33/ ➡️ 🗳️ This allows the decision-making process to proceed: Member States are now considering the two hostile amendments seeking to replace the compromise language of the draft resolution in the operative paragraphs 3 & 4 by selected text from the UN climate COPs. These two amendments are rejected!

32/ 🗳️ ⚙️ Final result of the procedural vote on the 🇻🇺 Vanuatu motion to consider all amendments in block... Both remaining amendments seeking to amend the operational paragraphs 3 and 4 will not be considered together...

31/ But the UNGA president maintains focus on the process forward "we could debate the rules of procedures further but at some point we will need to bring this process to an end". 🇿🇦 South Africa steps in helpfully to clarify the process forward (first a procedural vote then a substantive one).

30/ UN Member States vote on the two remaining amendments (since 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia & 🇰🇼 Kuwait withdrew one amendment each): the two remaining hostile amendments (L66 & L69 rev. 1). 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia and 🇵🇰 Pakistan seek additional information / raise procedural concerns.

29/ 🇵🇰 Pakistan also rallies these arguments. The president of the 🇺🇳UN General Assembly proposes the adoption of the four amendments in block, as proposed by 🇻🇺Vanuatu. (Correction to a previous post: the US delegate has changed since this morning's session.)

28/ Before the consideration of all amendments for adoption, 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia raises a point of order demanding that each amendment be considered for adoption individually, supported by similar statements by 🇰🇼 Kuwait and 🇮🇷 Iran.

26/ 🇺🇸 the US chimes in. As she has done repeatedly today, the US representative opens her statement with a reference to president Trump. While acknowledging that compromises were made by the core group, the US rejects the resolution as going beyond the Court's opinion.

25/ Next: 🇨🇾 Cyprus on behalf of the 🇪🇺 European Union & 🇮🇸Iceland, speaking against all of the proposed amendments both on substantive and on procedural ground, noting the careful negotiating process that led to the finalisation of the resolution...

24/ 🇵🇼 Palau now speaking, on behalf of AOSIS, to reject each of the amendments. Palau calls out the bluff of Saudi Arabia that claimed to defend the integrity o the Paris Agreement: "there has been no stronger supporter to the Paris Agreement than AOSIS".

23/ The floor is now open for the final step prior to the adoption of the resolution: "explanations of votes and positions". Four States will take the floor. 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia takes the floor first to denounce the resolution as going beyond the "agreed language" regarding energy transition.

22/ The secretariat is now keeping a record of all new co-sponsors to the draft resolution (so many, especially from Africa) and to the proposed hostile amendments (very few, but one notable one: 🇨🇳 China joined the group of fossil fuel producing countries by supporting the first amendment)

21/ next: 🇩🇿 Algeria, 🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia & 🇰🇼 Kuwait present three amendments, seeking to remove references to key findings of the International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion, as well as to cancel the addition of a new item on the annual agenda of the GA

20/... "and decided what to do with that judgment. We believe that this Assembly should meet that moment with unity, respect for the law and respect for one another." Amb. Tevi finishes his brief but powerful intervention calling upon other States to join and sponsor the resolution.

17/ The session has resumed (with a slight delay in the webcast)... Amb Odo Tevi of 🇻🇺 Vanuatu now addresses the General Assembly with a powerful presentation of the resolution, "the credibility of this institution is at stake today". 📺 live webstreaming here: webtv.un.org/en/asset/k1l...