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A Paris court ruled on Thursday that French energy giant TotalEnergies must account for the greenhouse gas emissions from its clients' use of its products, a landmark decision that applies France's corporate duty of vigilance law to climate change for the first time. The ruling, which came in a case brought by environmental NGOs and the city of Paris, requires TotalEnergies to amend its legally mandated risk assessment within six months to include these indirect emissions, known as Scope 3.

The Paris Judicial Court said that “climate-related risks and impacts to which the company may contribute through its activities fall within the scope of the law on the duty of vigilance for parent companies and ordering companies,” as reported by multiple sources. However, the court stopped short of ordering specific measures such as limiting overseas exploration and production or setting binding emissions reduction targets, a partial victory for the plaintiffs.

Coverage comparison

Several news outlets covered the ruling, each highlighting different aspects. France 24, in a video segment, called it a “landmark ruling” and emphasized that TotalEnergies must account for its clients' emissions. The Guardian framed the decision as a “partial victory for climate NGOs,” noting that while the court required disclosure of climate risks and plans to address them, it did not impose the specific measures the NGOs had sought, such as halting new fossil fuel projects or cutting production. RFI also reported that TotalEnergies must account for consumers' emissions and was given six months to adjust its risk assessment, placing the ruling in the context of a European heatwave. The Hindu provided additional detail, noting that TotalEnergies must amend its vigilance plan to include Scope 3 emissions and that the court applied the duty of vigilance law to climate change for the first time.

All sources agreed on the core facts: the court ordered TotalEnergies to account for client emissions, the company has six months to comply, and the case marks the first application of France's 2017 corporate duty of vigilance law to climate change. The Guardian emphasised that the court “stopped short” of ordering specific measures, a point echoed by other outlets. The Hindu noted that TotalEnergies argued the law did not cover global warming, a claim also reported by The Guardian and RFI.

Key claims

  • A French court ordered TotalEnergies to account for emissions from the use of its products by clients, as reported by France 24, The Guardian, RFI, and The Hindu.
  • TotalEnergies must amend its vigilance plan to include Scope 3 emissions, according to The Hindu and The Guardian. The court gave the company six months to do so, as reported by RFI and The Hindu.
  • The court applied France's Corporate Duty of Vigilance law to climate change for the first time, a claim carried by France 24 and The Hindu.
  • TotalEnergies argued that the law did not cover global warming, according to The Guardian and The Hindu. The plaintiffs, including NGOs and the city of Paris, accused TotalEnergies of refusing to account for indirect emissions from end users, which they said amounted to 342 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in 2024, as reported by The Hindu.
  • The court scheduled a new hearing for January 2027 to consider TotalEnergies's new assessment, as reported by RFI.
  • The decision comes as Europe experiences a brutal heatwave, with red alerts issued in several countries, according to RFI. One outlet reported that over 200,000 people across Europe died from heat-related causes in the last four years, but this claim was not carried by other sources.

Perspectives

The court's ruling reflects a balance between applying the duty of vigilance law and acknowledging the limits of corporate responsibility. The court stated that the law is not intended to make companies “responsible for the risks linked to climate change, which result from all human activity on the planet since the Industrial Revolution,” but rather to require them to act “according to their own situation,” as reported by RFI.

The plaintiffs, including the NGOs Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa, ZEA, and France Nature Environnement, who launched the proceedings in 2020, argue that TotalEnergies is one of the largest historical emitters of greenhouse gas. They had asked the court to require TotalEnergies to reduce oil production by 37% and gas production by 25% by 2030, and to halt all new fossil fuel projects, according to RFI. The city of Paris hailed the ruling as “a landmark decision in the history of French climate law,” with deputy mayor Alice Timsit saying, “For the first time, a judge recognises that climate risks do indeed fall under the duty of vigilance owed by large corporations, and no fossil-fuel multinational can evade this responsibility,” as reported by The Guardian.

TotalEnergies argued that the law applied only to the company's own operations and those of its contractors, not to customer activity, according to The Hindu. The company's lawyers contended during February hearings that the law did not cover global heating, as reported by The Guardian and The Hindu. The court, however, found the company's vigilance plan “incomplete” and ordered the inclusion of Scope 3 emissions, citing the inherent link between the company's activities and these emissions, as reported by The Hindu.