Brazil prosecutors sue Shell for US$108 million over deadly 2024 floods
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Brazilian prosecutors on Oct 9 filed an unprecedented lawsuit against oil giant Shell’s subsidiary in the country, demanding US$108 million in compensation over deadly 2024 floods.
PHOTO: AFP
- Brazil prosecutors filed a US$108 million lawsuit against Shell’s Brazilian unit over the deadly 2024 floods in Rio Grande do Sul.
- The floods, caused by heavy rain, killed nearly 200 people and displaced 500,000. Prosecutors say Shell should answer for its climate impact and emissions.
- The case, backed by Instituto Preservar, is seen as a major step in climate litigation. Experts say it is the first suit by a national prosecutor against an oil major for a climate disaster.
AI generated
BrasIlia – Brazilian prosecutors on Oct 9 filed an unprecedented lawsuit against oil giant Shell’s subsidiary in the country, demanding US$108 million (S$138 million) in compensation over deadly 2024 floods.
Torrential rains sparked historic flooding in southern Brazil in April and May that year, leaving nearly 200 people dead, 500,000 more displaced and massive damages.
According to the lawsuit, Shell’s liability should match its contribution to global warming – estimated at 2% of historical global greenhouse gas emissions.
“This civil suit is aimed at holding the defendant company accountable, in terms of its environmental and climate-related responsibilities, for collective material and moral damages stemming from the extreme weather event that hit Rio Grande do Sul state,” public prosecutors said, according to court documents seen by AFP.
They said the British energy giant should be held responsible because of its past and current greenhouse gas emissions associated with exploration, production and sale of fossil fuels.
The US$108 million in compensation accounts for both material and moral damages.
The filing of a new climate-related suit by Brazilian prosecutors – in conjunction with Instituto Preservar, a Brazilian non-governmental organisation – marks a new phase in the global battle in the courts against oil giants.
“This is the first time a national public prosecutor is suing an oil major for a climate disaster,” Maria Antonia Tigre, director of global climate litigation at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, told AFP.
Shell is already being sued in Britain by victims of a typhoon in the Philippines. AFP