French court finds TotalEnergies guilty of greenwashing claims
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A French court convicts TotalEnergies for misleading climate pledges in a landmark greenwashing case, raising global scrutiny over corporate carbon neutrality claims.
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View of the French oil giant company TotalEnergie headquarters, Friday, March 21, 2025, in La Defense business district outside Paris. (AP)
A French court has ruled that TotalEnergies engaged in misleading commercial practices by overstating its environmental commitments, marking the first global conviction of a major oil company for climate misinformation.
The civil case, filed by three environmental groups in March 2022, accused the French oil and gas giant of greenwashing, promoting itself as environmentally responsible while continuing to expand fossil fuel production.
ClientEarth, an organization monitoring legal action against the fossil fuel industry, described the ruling as the first of its kind worldwide against a major oil firm over climate-related marketing.
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Misleading climate pledges and carbon neutrality ads
The court found that TotalEnergies’ advertisements falsely led consumers to believe that the company could reach carbon neutrality by 2050, despite actively increasing its oil and gas output.
Beginning in May 2021, the company launched a campaign promoting its goal of achieving "net zero by 2050, together with society." It also highlighted fossil gas as "the fossil fuel with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions" and rebranded from Total to TotalEnergies, emphasizing its investments in solar and wind energy.
However, activists argued there was a significant gap between these claims and the company’s actual operations. Juliette Renaud of Friends of the Earth France, one of the plaintiffs, stated that TotalEnergies' advertising misled the public by promoting clean energy while its core activities remained tied to fossil fuels.
Court’s verdict, its implications for TotalEnergies
The Paris court ruled that TotalEnergies had misrepresented its environmental goals, thus violating consumer protection laws. It dismissed specific complaints related to fossil gas and biofuels but upheld the central accusation of misleading climate communication.
Environmental groups, including Greenpeace, welcomed the ruling as a legal milestone. They emphasized that some of the approximately 40 targeted advertisements were still in circulation and called on the court to prohibit their further use.
The environmental organizations told AFP that the ruling was "a major legal precedent against climate misinformation," adding that "this is the first time anywhere in the world that a major oil and gas company has been convicted by the courts for misleading the public by greenwashing its image regarding its contribution to the fight against climate change."
Activists have also requested that any future advertisements by TotalEnergies include disclaimers warning of the environmental impact of fossil fuel consumption.
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Broader legal and environmental impact across Europe
The case follows similar rulings against European aviation companies. In 2024, Dutch airline KLM and Germany’s Lufthansa were both found guilty of misrepresenting their efforts to reduce the environmental impact of flying.
While French law does not currently address greenwashing explicitly, this ruling sets a strong precedent for future climate-related litigation. It also reflects increasing scrutiny across the European Union over how companies advertise their environmental credentials amid the growing climate crisis.
