Dutch climate group says suing top bank ING
Milieudefensive and 30,000 co-plaintiffs believe ING is endangering the objectives of the Paris climate accord with its own CO2 emissions as well as its financing of new gas and oil projects.
"ING is the banker of the climate crisis. It's responsible for more than 260 megatons of CO2 emissions, comparable to one and a half times the total CO2 emissions of the Netherlands," said Milieudefensie president Donald Pols.
Pols and around 100 activists demonstrated outside the Amsterdam headquarters of ING.
Milieudefensie said it had submitted its case to the Dutch registry that collates class-action suits.
ING will appear before the registry on April 16 before submitting its formal legal response.
The court will set a date for hearings once these formalities have taken place.
ING did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
However, the bank said last month: "We are as concerned as Milieudefensie are about the climate and we have always had a good and constructive dialogue with them, from which we have also learned and taken inspiration."
"We would like to continue that dialogue but, if needed, we will of course explain our approach in court too."
ING said it was one of the first major international banks to commit to the goals of the Paris Agreement on curbing climate change.
"Our approach is based on science and we adapt it as evolving science leads to new insights," said ING.
In November, the Dutch Appeals Court ruled against Milieudefensie and other climate groups who said oil giant Shell was not doing enough to stem greenhouse gas emissions.
That reversed a landmark decision from a lower court which ruled Shell must reduce carbon emissions by 45 percent by 2030.
Despite this defeat, Milieudefensie lawyer Roger Cox said he was confident in the case against ING.
"In the Shell case, the appeal court once again ordered that Shell does have a climate responsibility.
And also the court extended that to other companies and financial institutions like ING as a company as well," Cox told AFP.
The climate groups are also urging ING to stop financing companies involved in fossil fuel projects.
"As the Paris Agreement states, we cannot fight climate change if we do not redirect our financial flows from climate-destroying activities to climate-friendly activities," said Cox.
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