Milieudefensie said Shell 'has 700 new oil fields' — the word 'new' misled, the RCC ruled

Milieudefensie, Friends of the Earth Netherlands, aired a television commercial with a blunt claim: 'Shell has 700 new oil and gas fields.' Developing them, the spot argued, is incompatible with climate agreements — and viewers were urged to support a new lawsuit against Shell. Visually, the Earth was covered in smoking chimneys after the Shell logo appeared.

Shell complained, and on 6 October 2025 the Advertising Code Committee found the claim created an incorrect impression (case 2025/00275). The word 'new' suggested Shell had recently acquired or put 700 additional fields into production — a massive expansion. The underlying 'Developing Disaster' report of May 2025, produced by Milieudefensie with Global Witness, actually listed 700 undeveloped fields in which Shell already held full or partial interests. The commercial lacked that nuance, and a general website reference at the end did not fix it.

The framework matters as much as the finding. The committee dismissed Shell's misleading-advertising and decency complaints: Milieudefensie acts as an idealistic organisation in public debate, not as a trader, and NGOs enjoy broad freedom of expression in the climate debate. But Article 5 of the Dutch Advertising Code — accuracy and trust in advertising — still applied, and the inaccurate '700 new fields' claim violated it. Milieudefensie was advised not to advertise in this manner again.