French Oil Major Failed to Fulfill ‘Vigilance’ Duty on Climate, Paris Court Rules

A French court on Thursday ruled that the oil major TotalEnergies must take responsibility for the full scope of greenhouse gas emissions across its supply chain—including emissions from customers’ use of its products. 

The company’s failure to account for these indirect, “Scope 3” emissions that constitute the vast majority of its contribution to dangerous warming is a violation of its obligation under France’s landmark duty of vigilance law, the court found.

The decision marked the first time that a French multinational corporation has been held liable under the 2017 law for failing to meet its obligations regarding climate-related risk. Climate advocates celebrated the ruling.

“This decision is really important because it paves the way for climate accountability of multinational companies in France,” Théa Bounfour, senior environmental legal officer at Sherpa, one of the French organizations that brought the lawsuit against TotalEnergies, said during a Thursday press conference. “It also sends a very, very clear message that fossil fuel companies are responsible for all of their emissions, including those generated by customers using their products.”

The Paris Judicial Court ordered TotalEnergies to revise its vigilance plan within the next six months to incorporate the impacts on human rights and the environment from the company’s Scope 3 emissions, which account for over 90 percent of its total attributable carbon emissions. Corporate vigilance plans are required under French law, whereby companies must identify risks to human rights and the environment resulting from their operations and outline measures they will take to mitigate these harms.

In a statement, TotalEnergies said that it “takes note of the Court’s request to also include customers’ emissions (Scope 3) in its vigilance plan and to update it accordingly.” The company said that it will supplement its plan by drawing on its sustainability report, in which it “describes the actions implemented to support its customers in reducing their emissions, notably through the development of electricity and biofuels production and sales activities.”

“The Company thus aims to bring to market an energy mix with progressively lower carbon intensity year after year and targets a 25% reduction in the carbon intensity of the energy products sold by 2030 compared to 2015, after achieving an 18% reduction achieved by the end of 2025,” TotalEnergies said in its statement. “The Company recalls that changes in its customers’ emissions also depend on their own investment and consumption choices, such as purchasing an electric vehicle, a heat pump, or using biofuels.” 

The court will hold another hearing next January to consider whether TotalEnergies’ revised plan is adequate. According to the plaintiffs, the court could, at that point order, the company to take additional or more specific measures to address climate risks, such as reducing emissions or curbing its oil and gas expansion. The court stopped short of ordering these measures in its ruling Thursday—a point which TotalEnergies said it “notes with satisfaction.” 

The ruling comes as much of Western Europe suffers through a record-breaking heat wave that scientists say is directly linked to fossil-fueled climate change. France saw its hottest days on record this week while most of the country was under a red alert, which applies to a heat wave episode of “exceptional intensity” similar to the one in 2003 that resulted in thousands of fatalities across Europe.

“As Europe swelters under another deadly heatwave, the French court has sent a strong message: fossil fuel companies will be held accountable for all of the emissions arising from their activities. TotalEnergies can no longer hide behind the argument that it should not be liable for the use of its products,” said Clara Gonzales, co-program director at the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights, in a statement.

“In January, the judges will have the opportunity to put an end to Total’s deliberate climate-destroying policy and make the law prevail over economic interest,” Gonzales added.

In the landmark climate case against TotalEnergies, initially filed in 2020, French civil society organizations and municipalities challenged the oil major’s overall response to the climate crisis, including its ongoing oil and gas expansion and failure to adequately address climate risks associated with its business. 

Plaintiffs—including Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa, France Nature Environnement and the city of Paris—demanded that the company align its business and operations with an emissions-reduction pathway compatible with warming of 1.5 degrees Celsius, which would require it to end fossil fuel expansion and start phasing down existing production. Already one of the world’s largest oil and gas producers, TotalEnergies plans to increase production by around 3 percent per year and is linked to at least 30 new fossil fuel projects representing more than half of the remaining dwindling carbon budget for limiting warming to 1.5 degrees.

The court’s decision followed a February hearing on the merits, essentially a trial. While the ruling did not go as far as the plaintiffs had hoped, it did find TotalEnergies liable for failing to fulfill its climate-related vigilance obligations, a major element of the case. 

The court rejected TotalEnergies’ argument that Scope 3 emissions should be excluded from its obligations because they are beyond the company’s control. Instead, the court noted that TotalEnergies can exert influence over these indirect emissions, including by “determining its investments and the composition of its energy portfolio.” By failing to include these emissions in its vigilance plan, the company’s plan is incomplete, the court said.

In addition to the duty of vigilance law, plaintiffs had asserted a claim under Article 1252 of the French civil code, which aims to prevent ecological damage. The court postponed ruling on that claim until it can assess the company’s new vigilance plan, which must be completed by Jan. 21. 

According to a press release from the plaintiff organizations, TotalEnergies could “be ordered at a later date to implement specific measures concerning its fossil fuel activities to prevent environmental damage to the atmosphere.” With a carbon footprint of about 376 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, TotalEnergies is responsible for generating carbon pollution roughly equal to the annual emissions of entire countries like France, the organizations note.

“There is emerging recognition that we have corporate climate accountability now,” said Matthias Petel, a researcher in climate law at the Université libre de Bruxelles. “This decision confirms a growing trend across Europe recognizing that fossil fuel companies must take responsibility for the climate risks arising from their activities.”

Johnny White, a lawyer with the environmental group ClientEarth, said in a statement: “Boardrooms should take note: courts will step in, and litigation risks are real and growing.”