DUTY OF CARE – THE CLIMATE TRIALS

Nic Balthazar | 2022 | 56 min | Belgium | OV (English with English subtitles)

Duty of Care follows the lawyer Roger Cox, who sues powerful states and corporations for climate protection.

Roger Cox is a family man, lawyer and nature lover. Until 2006, he thought climate change was an acceptable evil. But then a documentary film – Davis Guggenheim’s An Inconvenient Truth – shocked him so much that he decided to fight the impending catastrophe by legal means.

Cox finds allies, sues the Dutch government and the oil and gas company Shell – and wins in court. Shell is now obliged to reduce its CO2 emissions by 45 per cent by 2030. When the judge announced the judgement, cheers erupted on the streets and could be heard in the courtroom.

This first judgement of its kind is encouraging climate activists around the world to take legal action against climate-damaging companies and inactive governments. Will the judgement increase the pressure on corporations and contribute to the energy transition?