Setting hard targets for carbon emission would be ‘foolhardy’ – Shell CEO

Royal Dutch Shell Chief Executive Officer Ben van Beurden said it would be “foolhardy” for the oil and gas producer to set hard targets to reduce carbon emissions that could expose it to legal challenges.

“It would be somewhat foolhardy to put ourselves in a legal bind by saying these are the targets we will adopt,” van Beurden said at a company event.

“Before we put ourselves at the mercy of a legal challenge, I want to make sure we are doing the right thing first.”

Shell last year set forth non-binding ambitions to halve its carbon emissions by 2050, including from its operations as well as from the burning of fuels by customers.