THE TIME HAS COME.
The most critical decade for climate justice has now begun. As part of a rapid transition programme, all 'carbon majors' have to be radically and responsibly restructured. The political will may still not be there, but people power is getting stronger than ever before.
WE ARE GETTING READY.
In the Netherlands, it is up to civil society and grassroots organisations to rise to this historical challenge. We are combining our forces to reign over, decommission and 'sunset' Royal Dutch Shell by any legal, political and economic means possible.
We will convene and facilitate the convergence of a diversity of stakeholders, ranging from impacted community leaders and union organisers to campaigners and scholars. There will be panels, roundtables and workshops to share experiences, insights and strategies. We will learn from and empower each other and find common ground to address our grievances without leaving anyone behind.
A space dedicated to exhibitions, performances and creativity will be open to all in parallel to the conference. The curated content will inform the general public on the colonial-extractivist history of the company as well as the histories of frontline, indigenous and grassroots resistance. Cultural producers will engage the audience to look into the future and imagine the thriving communities of tomorrow.
We conduct multi-disciplinary research on pathways to decommission Shell and to enable democratic ownership and control of the energy sector. The findings will be presented at the Summit and published as a synthetic report. We will disseminate the content in an accessible, popular format so that everybody can be informed and involved in putting the theories of just transition into transformative practice.
We will provide a forum where everyone can have the opportunity to contribute to a deliberative democratic process, for building a broader social consensus about the future of the energy system. The outcome will be a resolution to be endorsed by hundreds of civil society organisations, broadening our coalition that will declare their active engagement in a just transition in the Netherlands and beyond.
Shell is among the top 10 of biggest contributors to the climate crisis and still spends over 95% of its investment expenditure on fossil fuels extraction.
Shell has been aware of the climate impacts of its operations at least since 1986, and knowingly contributed to “significant changes in sea level, ocean currents, precipitation patterns, regional temperature and weather”, as was stated in its own internal reports.
Shell has been repeatedly involved in human rights violations and environmental damages to carry out its business, and has consistently avoided paying compensations to affected communities and repairing ecosystems.
Shell benefits from massive state subsidies and does not pay any profit taxes in the Netherlands. Its CEO earns a thousand times more than the minimum wage.
Shell has spent millions of euros on lobbying against climate policies, and has been blatantly misleading the public’s perception with its numerous green-, pink-, and art-washing campaigns.
Shell is a shareholder-owned company locked-in for profit maximisation, which is legally inadequate for implementing the necessary changes in a rapid and accountable manner.
It is clear that Shell’s business model is unethical, ecologically disastrous and economically non-viable. Deep structural changes are urgently need to be enforced upon Shell, instead of waiting for voluntary, incremental adjustments.
However, we are aware that stating these facts is never enough: we need a broader social consensus to bring about the changes we need. By bringing together all the stakeholders to openly discuss on a Future Beyond Shell, we hope to achieve the following objectives:
1. to give much needed platform to affected communities to share their grievences with the general public,
2. to create favorable conditions for diverse stakeholders to network, find common ground and empower each other,
3. to disseminate the latest research and strategies on reigning over corporate power and democratising the energy sector,
4. to produce a political resolution to be endorsed by a broader coalition to build a lasting, impactful movement.
The privatised, financialised, corporate organisation of the energy sector is by design destructive to workers, communities on the frontlines, the climate, and society as a whole. However, we believe no carbon major is too big to fail. We seek active cooperation with allies across the world to take on publicly traded companies like ExxonMobil, Chevron, BP, Total, ENI as well as state-owned ones like Aramco, Gasprom, PetroChina and Petrobras.
The first day of the Summit is on WHY we need a Future Beyond Shell. The stage will be taken by the frontlines that are excluded from Shell’s decision making: communities impacted by and resisting Shell; workers and union organisers in the oil and gas sector; poor and targeted communities that are worst hit by climate disasters and the breakdown of extractive industries. By highlighting their stories, we intend to ground our understanding in the struggle and leadership of the grassroots.
The second day of the summit is dedicated to HOW we build a Future Beyond Shell. Movement leaders will share their visions to compensate communities, repair ecosystems, and to redress long-standing inequalities and injustices. Activist scholars will present the findings of their research and discuss strategies, ambitions and shortcomings of just transition projects like the Green New Deal.
The general public is especially encouraged to take part in cultural program, where histories of resistance and imaginaries of liberation will be produced and shared, and workshops and performances will be held. The highlight of the summit will be the People’s Assembly at Vredespaleis (Peace Palace), with renowned keynote speakers will take stage and the resolution will be adopted.
Shell Must Fall is an independent campaign that intends to “disrupt, block and cancel” with mass civil disobedience the 2020 AGM (shareholder meeting) of Royal Dutch Shell.
It is organised by an alliance led by the grassroots organisation codeROOD, which is in turn one of the constituents of the Future Beyond Shell coalition.
We agree with their demands and respond to their call by organising this Summit. We are not liable for disobedient actions but express our solidarity with them.
We do not want to hold this summit only to discuss between ourselves why Shell has to cease to exist, but we want to make it clear that there are tangible pathways to a Future Beyond Shell. With the knowledge gained and spread throughout the Summit, the coalition partners are committed to pursue their coordinated efforts to implement all legal, political and economic measures necessary to reign over Shell.
