Last Wednesday, a Dutch court ordered Royal Dutch Shell to reduce its carbon emissions by 45 percent from its 2019 levels by 2030. The oil company had set the following phased deadlines to cut its emissions from its 2016 levels: 6 percent by 2023, 20 percent by 2030, 45 percent by 2035 and 100 percent by 2050. The lawsuit was filed by seven groups, including Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth Netherlands, on behalf of 17,000 Dutch citizens who claim that Shell is threatening human rights as it continues to invest billions in the production of fossil fuels. The ruling is a first for environmentalists who have turned to the courts to try to force major energy companies to change their strategies.