TotalEnergies Faces Legal Setback Over 'Greenwashing' Claims

A French civil court has ruled against TotalEnergies, accusing the energy giant of misleading consumers through a 2021 advertising campaign that emphasized the company's commitment to carbon neutrality by 2050. This landmark ruling is the first under France's greenwashing law confronting an energy firm.

The court mandated TotalEnergies to pay reparations totaling 8,000 euros to each of the three NGOs that initiated the lawsuit and an additional 15,000 euros to cover their legal expenses. Furthermore, TotalEnergies must remove misleading content about its carbon neutrality and energy transition initiatives from its website within a month, or face daily penalties up to 20,000 euros.

This decision underscores growing scrutiny on corporations, especially amidst claims of environmental responsibility, from major players in the oil and gas sectors. Despite TotalEnergies' investments in renewable energy, over 97% of its income last year was derived from activities not aligned with EU green investment standards.