The oil giant TotalEnergies must defend itself against accusations of failing to take into account the climate consequences resulting from the use of its products.
A historic and potentially groundbreaking legal case opened on Thursday, February 19, before the Paris judicial court. In the dock is fossil fuel multinational TotalEnergies, already convicted of greenwashing last October. This time, the company must answer to allegations that it failed to adequately account for the climate impact of oil and gas combustion by its customers.
Why the trial against TotalEnergies could set a legal precedent
The very substance of the trial could establish a precedent capable of opening unprecedented legal pathways. The lawsuit was launched in 2020 by four environmental organisations — Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa, Zea and France Nature Environnement — with the support of the City of Paris. Their aim is to persuade judges to hold the oil company accountable for the consequences of its business model. The argument is based on the premise that TotalEnergies could not have been unaware that the fossil fuels it sells would ultimately be burned, resulting in greenhouse gas emissions.
Depuis ce jeudi, TotalEnergies est jugé à Paris, accusé d'avoir manqué à son devoir de vigilance en matière de risques environnementaux. Décryptage avec la spécialiste Pauline Abadie au micro de Marion L'Hour (@MarionLHour).
“We turned to the courts because TotalEnergies has known since the 1970s about the harmful consequences of its activities for the planet,” said Justine Ripoll, campaign manager at Notre Affaire à Tous. “Despite this, its business model remains heavily oriented toward fossil fuels, which are responsible for 70 per cent of greenhouse gas emissions.”
Forcing the company to align with the 1.5°C target
The goal is therefore to establish objective liability for the oil company, based on evidence showing that TotalEnergies was fully aware of the consequences of continuing to extract, produce, refine and sell oil and gas. “We want to force the company to align its strategy with the objective of limiting global temperature rise to a maximum of 1.5 degrees Celsius, as defined by the Paris Agreement.”
As a first step — and the primary demand of the four organisations and the City of Paris — they are calling for all new hydrocarbon extraction projects to be halted. It is clear that investing heavily in new drilling operations, power plants or refineries creates a concrete risk that, in the name of economic return, these assets will remain operational for decades. This would seriously compromise the climate commitments undertaken by the international community.
A legal action based on France’s due diligence law
The legal case is grounded in France’s 2017 due diligence law (duty of vigilance). The legislation requires companies with more than 5,000 employees to establish a risk prevention plan addressing what are defined as “serious violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, health and safety of individuals, and the environment.” Crucially, this obligation applies to both direct and indirect activities.
Auj. débute une audience décisive dans un procès contre TotalEnergies⚖️ Un recours porté par une coalition – dont Sherpa, @NotreAffaire, @FNEasso.
Une condamnation enverrait un message clair👉 les entreprises doivent faire leur part dans la lutte contre le changement climatique. pic.twitter.com/v9Zp7t9vmf
In its 2024–2025 vigilance plan, TotalEnergies refers only to impacts related to so-called “scope 1” and “scope 2” emissions — that is, direct emissions and those linked to suppliers and outsourced operations. It does not mention “scope 3” emissions, namely those resulting from the use of its products by third parties. In practical terms, this means the company does not account for emissions generated, for example, by motorists burning its fuel.
TotalEnergies’ position: “We cannot be solely responsible for an entire system”
For its part, the French fossil fuel giant appears confident. Including scope 3 emissions, it argues, “would mean placing on a single oil and gas producer the responsibility for the current functioning of the European and global energy system, built by states and companies over more than one hundred years. That would make no sense,” the company told the newspaper 20 Minutes.
Furthermore, according to TotalEnergies, the due diligence law “is not applicable to climate change issues.” It will now be up to the judges to determine whether the company’s interpretation of the law is correct.
From Australia to the United States, from Chile to Mozambique, and from Russia to Argentina, many countries are grappling with extreme weather conditions.
A Greenpeace report denounces Russia’s political and economic model: a nexus of extractivism, authoritarianism and war that is destroying the environment, with serious repercussions for the global ecosystem.
