Why Big Oil should be worried after a day of reckoning

Three of the world’s largest oil companies faced a major reckoning on Wednesday over their part in climate change.

First, a Dutch court told Royal Dutch Shell to cut its greenhouse gas emissions by a whopping 45 percent by 2030 in response to a lawsuit filed by seven environmental groups. Arguing that Shell is bound by an “unwritten standard of care” to human rights and the Paris climate agreement, the court ruled that Shell has the responsibility to “contribute to the prevention of dangerous climate change.” Although the judge’s decision isn’t the...