A French lawsuit challenges TotalEnergies’ expansion plans and could set a significant precedent on climate responsibilities

In the city where the Paris climate agreement was created, French oil major TotalEnergies is facing trial in a landmark civil climate case that aims to compel the company to curb its oil and gas production and emissions in line with the global accord’s 1.5 degrees Celsius long-term temperature limit. 

The Paris Judicial Court is holding a hearing on the merits, essentially a trial, Thursday and Friday in the case brought by French nonprofit groups and France’s capital city. Judges are examining, for the first time in the country’s history, whether a multinational oil and gas company can be legally required to reduce its fossil fuel production in line with climate objectives, according to a press release from the plaintiffs. 

If successful, the case would set an important precedent for corporate accountability that could have ripple effects far beyond France, legal experts and climate advocates say. 

French civil society organizations Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa, ZEA, Les Eco Maires and France Nature Environnement along with more than a dozen French municipal authorities filed the lawsuit against the oil major, called Total at the time, in January 2020. The suit challenges the company’s continued oil and gas production, despite its longstanding knowledge of the climate consequences, and its failure to adequately address the climate change risks associated with its business and operations.

It is the first climate case of its kind in France seeking to force a multinational oil company to stop fueling climate change through fossil fuel expansion.

Learn More