A French oil major must pay up for misleading consumers about its environmental commitments and climate strategy, a civil court in Paris has said in a first-of-its-kind ruling.
The decision Wednesday requires TotalEnergies to remove from its website claims about about achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 and being a “major player” in the energy transition. The company must also pay nearly $30,000, plus legal expenses, to environmental groups that sued over the oil producer’s claims, and it could face additional fines if it fails to comply.
Greenpeace France, one of the challengers in the case, called the ruling a “victory against climate misinformation that sends a strong signal to this entire polluting industry.”
The group, along with Friends of the Earth France and Notre Affaire à Tous, filed suit against TotalEnergies in 2022, with the support of ClientEarth. They argued that when Total rebranded itself as TotalEnergies in 2021, it launched a deceptive advertising campaign that gave the impression the company — one of the world’s largest carbon majors — was helping solve climate change.
