London – Greenpeace International and Greenpeace UK have agreed with Shell to settle the oil giant’s multimillion US dollar intimidation lawsuit over a peaceful protest conducted by the campaign groups last year. The settlement follows over a year of sustained campaigning by Greenpeace against Shell’s lawsuit. Experts have described the case as a strategic lawsuit against public participation (SLAPP), a type of abusive lawsuit commonly brought by wealthy corporations to silence critics.
The Greenpeace defendants faced over $11 million USD in damages and legal costs as a result of the lawsuit. As part of the final settlement, they will accept no liability and pay no money to Shell, instead agreeing to donate £300,000 to the Royal National Lifeboat Institution (RNLI).
They have also agreed to avoid protesting for a period at four Shell sites in the northern North Sea. The sites in question are mostly declining fields where the Greenpeace defendants had no plans to take direct action. Greenpeace will continue to campaign against Shell including in the North Sea.
Areeba Hamid, Co-Executive Director at Greenpeace UK, said: “Shell thought suing us for millions over a peaceful protest would intimidate us, but this case became a PR millstone tied around its neck. The public backlash against its bullying tactics made it back down and settle out of court.
“This settlement shows that people power works. Thousands of ordinary people across the country backed our fight against Shell and their support means we stay independent and can keep holding Big Oil to account. We’ve ensured not a penny of our supporters’ money will go to Shell and all funds raised will be used to continue campaigning against the fossil fuel industry and other big polluters.
“This legal battle might be over, but Big Oil’s dirty tricks aren’t going away. With Greenpeace facing further legal battles around the world, we won’t stop campaigning until the fossil fuel industry stops drilling and starts paying for the damage it is causing to people and planet.”
Shell’s suit is one of several SLAPPs currently faced by Greenpeace around the world. Greenpeace in the USA and Greenpeace International are being sued for hundreds of millions of dollars by Energy Transfer, a US pipeline company, over the Dakota Access Pipeline protests in 2016.
The case represents an existential threat to Greenpeace’s presence in the US. Greenpeace Italy and Greenpeace Netherlands are also being sued by Italian oil major ENI.
Shell filed its lawsuit against Greenpeace UK, Greenpeace International and nine activists in February 2023, after activists peacefully occupied a moving Shell oil platform.
It initially threatened the claim could exceed $8 million USD (c.£6.5 million) in damages. Shell then offered to settle the damages claim if Greenpeace entities, including those not a party to the lawsuit, agreed not to take action at any Shell installation at sea or port, anywhere in the world, ever again. These demands were firmly rejected by Greenpeace.
(Photo from Greenpeace International)