TotalEnergies Faces Trial in France Over Alleged Climate Promise Misrepresentation
The oil and gas giant is accused of misleading claims regarding its carbon neutrality objectives as it embarks on a landmark legal battle.
TotalEnergies, a major player in the global oil and gas sector, is currently embroiled in a significant civil trial in France, facing allegations of deliberately misleading the public regarding its climate commitments.
This trial, which is the first of its kind in France, has been prompted by a lawsuit filed in March 2022 by three environmental organizations—Greenpeace France, Amis de la Terre France, and Notre Affaire à Tous.
The plaintiffs accuse TotalEnergies of 'unfair trading practices' for claiming that it could achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 while continuing to produce fossil fuels.
Since May 2021, TotalEnergies has promoted its goal of achieving 'carbon neutrality by 2050' and has positioned natural gas as 'the fossil fuel with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions.' At that time, the company also rebranded from Total to TotalEnergies to highlight its investments in low-carbon energy sources, including electricity.
The lawsuit lists 40 alleged 'false advertisements' to support the case against the company.
Legal representative Apolline Cagnat from Greenpeace stated that the advertising claims 'do not honestly reflect the reality of TotalEnergies' operations.' The environmental NGOs involved are advocating for the judiciary to send a 'clear signal' to fossil fuel companies, urging them to immediately cease any misleading commercial practices.
TotalEnergies has firmly rejected these accusations, asserting that its messaging falls within the boundaries of institutional communication regulated by financial authorities rather than consumer law.
The company contends that no consumer organization has formally entered the case, thus arguing that the NGOs are improperly invoking consumer protection laws to contest its corporate strategy.
In recent years, various environmental groups have turned to the courts in an effort to establish legal precedent against corporate practices perceived as misleading.
This practice, commonly referred to as 'greenwashing,' raises concerns about the authenticity of companies' claims regarding their environmental initiatives.
In Europe, significant rulings have already been made against aviation companies; for instance, the Dutch airline KLM was found liable in 2024, and Lufthansa faced similar repercussions in March for deceiving consumers about their environmental mitigation efforts.
In Spain, however, the energy company Repsol was acquitted of similar accusations of greenwashing.
Additionally, a case against Australian fossil fuel producer Santos, which markets itself as a 'clean fuels' company, remains ongoing since 2021.
The current legal proceedings in France are grounded in a European Union directive against unfair commercial practices.
Climate experts emphasize that methane leaks from the gas industry can have a significant warming effect on the atmosphere.
TotalEnergies maintains that it has not engaged in any deceptive trading practices, asserting plans to demonstrate that its messaging regarding its rebranding, strategy, and role in the energy transition is reliable and backed by objective, verifiable data.
This trial, which is the first of its kind in France, has been prompted by a lawsuit filed in March 2022 by three environmental organizations—Greenpeace France, Amis de la Terre France, and Notre Affaire à Tous.
The plaintiffs accuse TotalEnergies of 'unfair trading practices' for claiming that it could achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 while continuing to produce fossil fuels.
Since May 2021, TotalEnergies has promoted its goal of achieving 'carbon neutrality by 2050' and has positioned natural gas as 'the fossil fuel with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions.' At that time, the company also rebranded from Total to TotalEnergies to highlight its investments in low-carbon energy sources, including electricity.
The lawsuit lists 40 alleged 'false advertisements' to support the case against the company.
Legal representative Apolline Cagnat from Greenpeace stated that the advertising claims 'do not honestly reflect the reality of TotalEnergies' operations.' The environmental NGOs involved are advocating for the judiciary to send a 'clear signal' to fossil fuel companies, urging them to immediately cease any misleading commercial practices.
TotalEnergies has firmly rejected these accusations, asserting that its messaging falls within the boundaries of institutional communication regulated by financial authorities rather than consumer law.
The company contends that no consumer organization has formally entered the case, thus arguing that the NGOs are improperly invoking consumer protection laws to contest its corporate strategy.
In recent years, various environmental groups have turned to the courts in an effort to establish legal precedent against corporate practices perceived as misleading.
This practice, commonly referred to as 'greenwashing,' raises concerns about the authenticity of companies' claims regarding their environmental initiatives.
In Europe, significant rulings have already been made against aviation companies; for instance, the Dutch airline KLM was found liable in 2024, and Lufthansa faced similar repercussions in March for deceiving consumers about their environmental mitigation efforts.
In Spain, however, the energy company Repsol was acquitted of similar accusations of greenwashing.
Additionally, a case against Australian fossil fuel producer Santos, which markets itself as a 'clean fuels' company, remains ongoing since 2021.
The current legal proceedings in France are grounded in a European Union directive against unfair commercial practices.
Climate experts emphasize that methane leaks from the gas industry can have a significant warming effect on the atmosphere.
TotalEnergies maintains that it has not engaged in any deceptive trading practices, asserting plans to demonstrate that its messaging regarding its rebranding, strategy, and role in the energy transition is reliable and backed by objective, verifiable data.
