NGOs FILE A COMPLAINT AGAINST TOTALENERGIES FOR MISLEADING COMMUNICATION
by Simon Jessop, Gloria Dickie and Benjamin Mallet
LONDON/PARIS (Reuters) – Several environmental organizations have sued TotalEnergies, accusing it of misleading consumers about its efforts to fight climate change.
The complaint, which was served on TotalEnergies and must be filed in court in Paris, concerns the company’s “reinvention” advertising campaign. The plaintiffs say the campaign breached EU consumer law by suggesting that TotalEnergies could achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050 while continuing to produce more fossil fuels.
Environmentalists have long complained of “greenwashing”, in other words the misleading messages that companies can send about their commitments in terms of sustainable investment.
TotalEnergies told Reuters it was implementing its strategy “in a concrete way”, including through investments and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions, and that it was acting “in line with the objectives that the company has set itself. It is therefore false to claim that our strategy is ‘greenwashing'”.
Launched globally in May 2021, the ads claimed that TotalEnergies was committed to being “a major player in the energy transition” and aimed for carbon neutrality by 2050.
The organizations say the company’s plan to continue to increase production of fossil fuels such as oil and gas – which contribute significantly to global warming – is at odds with this goal.
Last year, a report by the International Energy Agency said that no new oil and gas fields should be exploited from this year if there was to be any chance of limiting global warming. to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels by 2050.
The plaintiffs accuse TotalEnergies of breaching the EU’s Unfair Consumer Practices Directive, which prohibits misleading practices, including promoting false information or omitting relevant information that impacts consumer decision-making.
The case, part of a growing number of legal challenges to corporate climate efforts, was brought by Greenpeace France, Friends of the Earth France and Notre Affaire à Tous, with the support of lawyers specializing in the ClientEarth environment.
“We must protect consumers from misinformation strategies that prevent them from distinguishing fact from fiction and delay the urgent climate action we need,” Clara Gonzales, legal adviser to Greenpeace France, said in a statement.
TotalEnergies has previously said it expects oil production to peak in the decade before declining, rising around 3% per year by 2026, driven by rising gas. liquefied natural gas (LNG), expected at 6% per year.
The group plans to spend 13 to 15 billion dollars (11 to 13.5 billion euros) per year between 2022 and 2025 and will allocate half of it to the development of new energies, mainly renewable energies and electricity, and the other half on natural gas.
More companies are making climate commitments to win over consumers, and investors and climate advocates are increasingly scrutinizing their actions to see if they can help achieve the global climate goal of net zero emissions by 2050.
In the case of TotalEnergies, a major investor group that engages with companies on climate transition plans has also raised concerns about its efforts, including the lack of an emissions reduction target. related to the use of its products by consumers.
(French version Camille Raynaud)