Shell sued by Brazil prosecutors for $108m over floods

Brazilian prosecutors filed a civil lawsuit on October 9 against Shell's Brazilian subsidiary, seeking $108 million over deadly 2024 floods in Rio Grande do Sul state.

Torrential rains in April and May 2024 caused historic flooding in southern Brazil, leaving nearly 200 people dead and 500,000 displaced.

The lawsuit says Shell's liability should correspond to its alleged contribution to global warming, estimated in the filing at 2% of historical global greenhouse gas emissions. Public prosecutors said in court documents seen by AFP that the case seeks compensation for collective material and moral damages linked to the extreme weather event.

The prosecutors said Shell should be held responsible because of past and current greenhouse gas emissions associated with fossil fuel exploration, production and sale. The case was filed with Instituto Preservar, a Brazilian NGO.

Maria Antonia Tigre, director of global climate litigation at the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, told AFP it was the first time a national public prosecutor had sued an oil major over a climate disaster. Shell is also being sued in the United Kingdom by victims of a typhoon in the Philippines.