From courtroom to conference: acclaimed climate justice film to screen at ECCA2025

A ground-breaking documentary going behind the scenes of a courtroom climate battle will come to the big screen at ECCA2025 – introduced in-person by its acclaimed director.

We are delighted to announce that Director Nic Balthazar will be joining ECCA2025 audiences for the screening of ‘Duty of Care – The Climate Trials’ followed by a Q&A at the conference in Palacongressi di Rimini on June 17th. The documentary tells the inside story of a lawyer who took on global fossil fuel giant Shell and the Dutch Government.

It is one of two Balthazar screenings at the three-day climate adaptation conference. ‘For Rosa’ a one-person play about a teenager’s journey from personal loss to climate activism will be shown on July 18th. Both screenings are part of the conference’s ‘Explore and Connect’ intervals and will be followed by a conversation with the director.

The complex Duty of Care case is still going through the courts but its landmark rulings so far have already triggered a wave of climate cases internationally.

The action follows Dutch Lawyer Roger Cox as he sets out to make history by establishing a legal precedent that governments and the fossil fuel industry have a duty of care to prevent climate change.

The ‘fly on the wall’ style approach and Balthazar’s personal commitment capture the tensions and drama over two years, going behind the scenes as the case evolves, with Cox successfully using the legal system as a tool to enforce climate policy.

The award-winning film was first released in 2022, a year after Cox and his team won a landmark legal ruling in the Netherlands requiring Shell to cut CO2 emissions across its entire business by 45% by 2030. That same year the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Working Group III separately recognised the role of litigation as a route to driving effective climate action.

However, there was a devastating setback last year when the historic decision was overturned by the Court of Appeal in The Hague, resulting in an appeal by Friends of the Earth Netherlands to the Netherlands’ Supreme Court that is expected to publish its ruling in 2026.

In the meantime climate litigation has gained momentum: at least 230 new climate cases were reportedly filed in 2023.

‘Duty of Care’ is a polished and inspiring film and ECCA organisers are honoured that Belgian Director, Balthazar, will join us to watch the film and follow it with a conversation about how it was made and its impact, taking questions from the audience.

See the full ECCA2025, including the ‘Explore and Connect’ interval line-ups.

Watch the trailer: Duty of Care – The Climate Trials:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDgP5TRKOnA

Climate in the Courts: Court Reverses Historic Climate Verdict Against Shell:

https://www.climateinthecourts.com/court-reverses-historic-climate-verdict-against-shell/

Global Climate Trends in Litigation: 2022 Snapshot:

chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://www.cccep.ac.uk/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Global-trends-in-climate-change-litigation-2022-snapshot.pdf

Climate activists take Shell case to Dutch Supreme Court:

https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/climate-energy/climate-activists-take-shell-case-dutch-supreme-court-2025-02-11/

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From courtroom to conference: acclaimed climate justice film to screen at ECCA2025

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