The French court gave TotalEnergies a month to take down the misleading statements or face a fine of \u20ac10,000 (\u00a38,700) a day. It was also ordered to post the court\u2019s ruling on its website, with the same penalty for noncompliance, as well as to pay \u20ac8,000 to each of the three NGOs and \u20ac15,000 for their legal costs.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe French justice system is finally tackling the impunity of fossil fuel greenwashing that Total has enjoyed until now,\u201d said Justine Ripoll, campaigns manager at Notre Affaire \u00e0 Tous, one of the NGOs that brought the case. \u201cIt sends a clear message: climate disinformation is not an acceptable business strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n
TotalEnergies said it acknowledged the court\u2019s judgment and added that most of the claims against it were dismissed. The company, which has an installed renewable capacity of 35GW and is aiming for 100GW by 2030, said the judgment does not target any of TotalEnergies Electricit\u00e9 et Gaz France\u2019s advertising campaigns concerning offers to consumers in France<\/a>, but only targets general statements on the website of the parent company, TotalEnergies SE.<\/p>\n The company, which aims to achieve 100 gigawatts of renewable power generation by 2030 but has made fossil gas a \u201ccornerstone\u201d of its strategy, has said it was a multi-energy company aiming to \u201cresponsibly, cost-effectively and sustainably produce the energy that we all need in our daily lives\u201d.<\/p>\n The ruling is the result of a legal action brought by NGOs in 2022 in response to a campaign when the company changed its name from Total.<\/p>\n The court ordered TotalEnergies to remove statements that said it placed sustainable development at the heart of its strategy and that it \u201ccontributed to the wellbeing of populations\u201d in line with the UN\u2019s sustainable development goals.<\/p>\n Judges dismissed a further accusation of greenwashing over the company\u2019s claims about fossil gas and biofuels. The court found that although the statements contained some disputed claims, they were for informational rather than commercial purposes.<\/p>\n Climate activists and green groups have increasingly taken fossil fuel companies to court for environmental claims that do not align with published climate science.<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n The planet’s most important stories. Get all the week’s environment news – the good, the bad and the essential<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n In a landmark report in 2022, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change found that the world had enough existing and planned fossil fuel infrastructure to blow past the goal of limiting global heating to 1.5C above preindustrial levels. Meanwhile, the International Energy Agency found that \u201cno new oil and gas\u201d exploration was compatible with its key scenario for keeping planetary heating to that level.<\/p>\n Jonathan White, a lawyer for ClientEarth, which supported the NGOs, said TotalEnergies appeared to be continuing with oil and gas projects despite warnings from climate experts.<\/p>\n \u201cThis landmark judgment sends a clear warning shot to other oil and gas majors in Europe and beyond,\u201d he said. \u201cClaiming to be part of the transition while backing new fossil fuel projects comes at a tried-and-tested legal price.\u201d<\/p>\n Quick GuideContact Guardian Business about this storyShow The best public interest journalism relies on first-hand accounts from people in the know.<\/p>\n If you have something to share on this subject you can contact the Business team confidentially using the following methods.<\/p>\n Secure Messaging in the Guardian app<\/p>\n The Guardian app has a tool to send tips about stories. Messages are end to end encrypted and concealed within the routine activity that every Guardian mobile app performs. This prevents an observer from knowing that you are communicating with us at all, let alone what is being said.<\/p>\n If you don’t already have the Guardian app, download it (iOS<\/a>\/Android<\/a>) and go to the menu. Scroll down and click on Secure Messaging. When asked who you wish to contact please select the Guardian Business team.<\/p>\n SecureDrop, instant messengers, email, telephone and post<\/p>\n If you can safely use the tor network without being observed or monitored you can send messages and documents to the Guardian via our SecureDrop platform<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/1761774015_979_4000.jpg\")
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