A cyclist passes oil silos at the Royal Dutch Shell Pernis refinery in Rotterdam, Netherlands, on Tuesday, April 27, 2021.
Peter Boer | Bloomberg | Getty Images
LONDON — A Dutch court on Wednesday ruled oil giant Royal Dutch Shell must reduce its carbon emissions by 45% by 2030 from 2019 levels.
That’s a much higher reduction than the company’s current aim of lowering its emissions by 20% by 2030.
The landmark ruling comes at a time when the world’s largest corporate emitters are under immense pressure to set short, medium and long-term emissions targets that are consistent with the Paris Agreement. The climate accord is widely recognized as critically important to avoid an irreversible climate crisis.
Shell’s current climate strategy states that the company is aiming to become a net-zero emissions business by 2050, with the company setting a target of cutting its CO2 emissions by 45% by 2035.
A spokesperson for Shell said the company “fully expect to appeal today’s disappointing court decision.”
“We are investing billions of dollars in low-carbon energy, including electric vehicle charging, hydrogen, renewables and biofuels,” the spokesperson said via email. “We want to grow demand for these products and scale up our new energy businesses even more quickly.”
Shares of Shell were trading 0.2% higher in London. The stock price is up almost 10% year-to-date, having tumbled nearly 40% in 2020.
‘A turning point in history’
The lawsuit was filed in April 2019 by seven activist groups — including Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace — on behalf of 17,200 Dutch citizens. Court summons claimed Shell‘s business model “is endangering human rights and lives” by posing a threat to the goals laid out in the Paris Agreement.
Under the Paris Agreement — a deal adopted in 2015 and signed by 195 countries — nations agreed to a framework to prevent global temperatures from rising by any more than 2 degrees Celsius, although the accord aims to prevent global temperature rises exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Roger Cox, a lawyer for environmental activists in the case, said in a statement that the ruling marked “a turning point in history” and could have major consequences for other big polluters.
Meanwhile, Sara Shaw, Friends of the Earth’s international program coordinator for climate justice and energy, said the organization hoped the verdict would “trigger a wave of climate litigation against big polluters to force them to stop extracting and burning fossil fuels.”
Mark van Baal, founder of Dutch group Follow This, told CNBC via email that the judge’s ruling shows “Big Oil can no longer dismiss the crucial role it has to play in the fight against climate change.”
At Shell’s annual general meeting last week, shareholders voted overwhelmingly in favor of the company’s energy transition plans — but, crucially, a growing minority rejected the strategy, insisting the oil giant needed to do much more in the fight against climate change.
Activist investor Follow This said at the time that the result was likely to mean Shell would have to revise its climate targets once again.
According to Reuters, the case is the first in which activists have taken a major energy firm to court to compel it to overhaul its climate strategy.
Royal Enfield’s new electric motorcycle brand, Flying Flea, just pulled the wraps off its second model – the scrambler-inspired FF.S6 – at EICMA 2025, and it’s an agile, tech-packed machine that brings serious trail-ready vibes to city streets.
Inspired by the iconic 1940s Flying Flea motorcycle (which was literally parachuted into battle, hence the logo), the FF.S6 is a modern reimagining with off-road chops and futuristic tech. Royan Enfield assures us that this is a far cry from an average urban electric motorcycle. Instead, it’s a lightweight, connected, and capable machine that blends classic scrambler style with serious smart features.
Built on a lightweight frame with staggered 19-inch front and 18-inch rear wheels, a USD front fork, and chain final drive, the FF.S6 is ready for both tight urban corners and loose gravel backroads. A high-torque electric motor paired with a magnesium finned battery case keeps weight low while enhancing cooling, and the long enduro-style seat offers comfort for longer rides.
Tech-wise, the FF.S6 goes way beyond what you’d expect from a typical commuter. A circular high-res touchscreen display nods to the original Flying Flea while delivering fully connected features, including lean-angle sensing ABS, traction control, off-road mode, and built-in navigation. Voice Assist lets riders launch music or maps hands-free through their phone, and OTA updates ensure the bike gets smarter over time.
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The system is powered by a Snapdragon QWM2290 processor, the same class of chip you’d find in advanced smartphones. Riders can use a smartwatch or phone app to manage everything from keyless start to charging status and diagnostics.
Production of the FF.S6 is expected to begin by the end of 2026.
Electrek’s Take
Sure, this is largely just an experiment in applying some mods to the same motorcycle prototype that Royal Enfield showed us last year, but it’s a cool-looking example of it! And while we’re still waiting to see what these bikes will cost (not to mention a few more hard and fast tech specs), I’m glad to see that Royal Enfield’s Flying Flea team is jumping in with bold design and bleeding-edge software. The FF.S6 looks like a scrambler but thinks like a smartphone and rides like an urban bike – likely. And for a new wave of connected urban riders, that might be the perfect combination.
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A turbine blade is lifted onto a rack near tower sections at the Revolution Wind project assembly site at State Pier in New London, Connecticut, US, on Friday, Oct. 24, 2025.
Bloomberg | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Danish renewables giant Orsted on Wednesday reported a quarterly net loss as the beleaguered company continues to battle U.S. President Donald Trump’s anti-wind policies.
The world’s biggest offshore wind farm group posted a net loss of 1.7 billion Danish kroner ($261.8 million) for the July-September period. The result, which was slightly better than analysts feared, was significantly down from profit of 5.17 billion Danish kroner in the same period last year.
The company, however, reiterated its full-year earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) guidance of 24-27 billion Danish kroner, excluding earnings from new partnerships and cancellation fees.
It comes shortly after the company announced it had reached a deal to sell a 50% stake in its Hornsea 3 offshore wind farm in the U.K. to Apollo Global Management in a deal worth $6 billion.
“I’m satisfied with the good progress across our entire construction portfolio and our solid operational performance,” Orsted CEO Rasmus Errboe said in a statement.
“Our key focus is to continue delivering on our business plan, which will enable Ørsted to remain a global leader of offshore wind with a strong foothold in Europe,” he added.
Shares of Orsted were 1.2% higher on Wednesday morning. The stock price has fallen sharply this year amid concerted efforts from the White House to halt several ongoing developments and suspend new licensing.
The firm on Wednesday said that operating profit came in at 416 million euros ($477.8 million) for the July-September period, above expectations of 305 million euros estimated by analysts in a company-compiled consensus.
Shares of Vestas jumped more than 14% on the news, soaring to the top of the pan-European Stoxx 600 index, as investors welcomed signs of a successful turnaround following years of losses.
Asked about some of the headwinds facing the wind industry, notably from the Trump administration, Vestas CEO Henrik Andersen said the company has a “well-established” supply chain in the U.S.
“For us, we see the U.S., both customers and the buildout in the U.S., as some of our core responsibility to help the U.S. with,” Andersen told CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on Wednesday.
“Then sometimes maybe we have to get a bit of a slap that it is not everyone that likes the nature of a wind turbine. But I think, in general, … energy drives decision making and [the] cost of energy drives decision making,” he added.
Earlier this year, we covered the unveiling of the NIUMM, an electric microcar designed for urban residents (and especially those with a NIU scooter already, since it shares the same batteries). Now the company is actually bringing it to market.
The electric microcar was on display at EICMA 2025, the Milan Motorcycle Show, where NIU showed off how it shares the same drivetrain as its NQi-series scooters.
The small format L6e quadricycle uses a pair of NQi batteries – the same ones from NIU’s scooters – to power the little not-a-car up to around 70 km (43 miles) at speeds of up to 45 km/h (28 mph). That’s the maximum allowable speed for the L6e class.
For anyone who already owns the scooter, those two batteries may be sufficient. But the range can be nearly doubled by carrying a second pair of batteries in the convenient extra battery slots built into the vehicle.
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When the NIUMM was originally launched, it wasn’t yet clear if it was actually headed for production, or at least when that may be. But NIU’s Director of International, Sieghart Michielsen, explained that the vehicle is finishing homologation testing now, marking the last major obstacle to its commercial launch.
L6e quadricycles have carved out a unique and growing niche in European cities, where their compact size, low speed, and lightweight classification make them ideal for navigating dense urban environments. These light four-wheeled vehicles are limited to a top speed of 45 km/h (28 mph) and a maximum weight of 425 kg (excluding batteries), allowing them to be driven with a moped license in many countries.
That accessibility, combined with their affordability and electric drivetrains, has made L6e quadricycles especially popular among teenagers, city dwellers, and older adults looking for an easy-to-use alternative to cars.
One of the most iconic examples is the Citroen Ami, a no-frills, ultra-compact electric vehicle that has gained cult status in urban areas thanks to its minimalist design, €7,000 price tag, and availability through subscription or car-sharing services. My wife and I spent a week living with a Citroen Ami while on vacation in Greece, and it proved to be a fascinating way to navigate around.
Other standout L6e models like the Renault Twizy, the Microlino, and the Eli Zero, have helped demonstrate real demand for niche, small vehicles. These vehicles offer just enough comfort and protection from the elements for short city trips, while avoiding the cost, complexity, and parking headaches of full-size cars –making them an increasingly attractive option in Europe’s car-light future.
NIU could leverage the growing momentum for these types of vehicles if it can stick the landing with the NIUMM. While we still don’t have solid pricing or availability timelines yet, it looks like we’re looking at sooner rather than later.
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