From Friends of the Earth France – Greenpeace France – Notre Affaire à Tous

For immediate release

Total condemned for greenwashing: a major legal precedent against climate misinformation by oil majors

Paris, October 23, 2025 - Paris civil Court of Justice released today a historic ruling, a world first: it condemns TotalEnergies for misleading commercial practices due to its false claims about its “ambition to achieve net zero by 2050” and “to be a major player in the energy transition.”

This historic ruling follows legal action initiated in 2022 by Friends of the Earth France, Greenpeace France, and Notre Affaire à Tous, with the support of ClientEarth. It condemns the company’s communication campaign surrounding its name change from Total to TotalEnergies in 2021.

This victory marks a turning point for consumer protection, climate preservation, and the fight against greenwashing practices. It is the first time worldwide that a major oil and gas company has been condemned by a court for misleading the public by greenwashing its image with regard to its contribution to the fight against climate change.

The court ruled that Total had « engaged in misleading commercial practices by disseminating, on the website www.totalenergies.fr, messages based on claims about their “ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050” and “to be a major player in the energy transition” that were likely to mislead consumers about the scope of the Group’s environmental commitments. »

Consequently, the court ordered TotalEnergies and TotalEnergies Electricité et Gaz France:

• to cease their misleading claims within one month, under financial penalty of €10,000 per day of delay,
• to publish the court decision on the home page of their website www.totalenergies.fr in a visible manner for 180 days.

The three civil society organizations welcome this judgment, which reflects the seriousness of the climate damage caused by this oil and gas giant. This victory crowns three years of legal battles and the CSOs’ determination to hold Total accountable for climate misinformation.

However, the plaintiffs regret that the court rejected their claims concerning gas and agrofuels, as it considered that the communications in question were not “directly related to the promotion, sale, or supply of TotalEnergies’ energy products to consumers.” The court did not, however, rule on the content of these communications.

Justine Ripoll, campaigner at Notre Affaire à Tous, said: "By recognizing that Total’s communications mislead consumers, the French courts are finally tackling the impunity of fossil fuel greenwashing that Total had enjoyed until now. It sends a clear message: climate misinformation is not an acceptable business strategy. Citizens have a right to honest information, and fossil fuel companies must be held accountable for the reality of their activities."

According to Edina Ifticene, campaigner at Greenpeace France: "With more than 97% of its energy production coming from hydrocarbons and nearly 80% of its investments still focused on fossil fuels, Total continues to exacerbate the climate crisis, while claiming to contribute to its resolution. The court’s historic decision finally prohibits the company from concealing the damage it causes behind greenwashing tactics."

Juliette Renaud, coordinator of Friends of the Earth France, said: "We hope that the court’s decision will help shed light on the reality of Total’s activities, as the company continues to expand its oil and gas operations on every continent, particularly in Africa, at the cost of serious human rights violations and irreversible environmental and climate damage. In particularly Total is stubbornly determined to relaunch its Mozambique LNG mega gas project, despite an alarming security and humanitarian context on the ground. This project alone would contribute to producing between 3.3 and 4.5 billion tons of CO₂ equivalent. It is time to compel Total and other oil and gas major to comply with scientists’ recommendations to put an end to the development of new fossil fuel projects."

This decision comes in an international context where more and more companies, particularly oil companies, are being questionned for similar practices.

Finally, with COP30 approaching, this decision sends a strong signal to the entire fossil fuel industry. The French courts have now paved the way for similar actions in Europe and around the world. With this major precedent, it is the overall strategy of powerful oil and gas companies to conceal their climate responsibilities that is being called into question. Countering the climate misinformation they orchestrate is a major step forward for the energy transition.

Read here the full ruling (in French)

Press contacts :

       Friends of the Earth France : Juliette Renaud [email protected] / +33 6 37 65 56 40

       Greenpeace France : Franck Mithieux [email protected] / +33 6 30 23 52 78

       Notre Affaire à Tous : Justine Ripoll [email protected] / + 33 6 42 21 37 36

       ClientEarth : Anaïs Rivalier [email protected] / +44 (0)7851 926887