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Comissão Pastoral da Terra and Notre Affaire à Tous v. BNP Paribas - summons

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On October 11, 2022, NGOs Comissão Pastoral da Terra and Notre Affaire à Tous sent a notice of intent to sue BNP Paribas in relation to its financing of businesses allegedly responsible for the deforestation of Amazon and violations of human rights. Considering the answer by BNP Paribas as largely insufficient and non-satisfactory, the NGOs have decided to bring suit before the Judicial Court of Paris.

The notice of intent to sue - which was the first, and necessary, pre-trial stage – and the following summons filed before the Judicial Court of Paris, claim BNP Paribas violated the loi sur le devoir de vigilance of 2017 (Law on the duty of vigilance; incorporated in articles L. 225-102-4 and 225-102-5 of the French Commercial Code).

The law on the duty of vigilance provides that specific companies (those who employ “at least five thousand employees within the company and its direct and indirect subsidiaries, whose head office is located on French territory, or that has at least ten thousand employees in its service and in its direct or indirect subsidiaries, whose head office is located on French territory or abroad”) must establish a plan to prevent the violation of human rights and environmental damage that may occur in the course of their business. The plan must “include reasonable vigilance measures to identify risks and prevent serious violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, the health and safety of individuals and the environment, resulting from the activities of the company and those of the companies it controls (...) as well as from the activities of subcontractors or suppliers with whom there is an established business relationship, when these activities are related to that relationship.” If the plan is not correctly drafted or is inadequate to measure and prevent these risks, the company is liable for the damages that it might have prevented. Anyone with a legitimate interest can also ask for injunctive relief to force the company to comply with the law, a groundbreaking preventative mechanism for French legal proceedings.

The summons sent by Comissão Pastoral da Terra and Notre Affaire à Tous to BNP Paribas details multiple violations of the law, stating that the bank’s vigilance plan is not adequate to prevent the violations of human rights.

In particular, BNP Paribas provides financial services without adequate due diligence to corporations, such as Marfrig, one of the world’s largest producers of beef. Suppliers to Marfrig have allegedly engaged in severe deforestation of the Amazon, land-grabbing of protected indigenous territories, and forced labor in cattle farms. 

The beef sector is the largest driver of deforestation in the Amazon, and it is also among the largest sources of methane emissions.

The violations relate not only to how BNP Paribas’ plan is drafted but also the lack of clarity concerning int environmental commitments and the fact that the plan identifies as a risk only deforestation, and not also the seizure of indigenous peoples’ land, forced labor, and methane emissions. Moreover, the plan does contain adequate measures to mitigate the abovementioned risks of human rights’ violations. 

Therefore, the plaintiffs claim that the Court has to order BNP Paribas to fulfill its obligation relating to the duty of vigilance and, therefore, to implement a new plan. 

In this plan, BNP Paribas should: 
- group together all the elements relating to the law on the duty of vigilance within its plan;
- put an end to the ambiguity of its environmental commitments within its vigilance plan and in its public communication, which contributes to greenwashing;
- identify the risks of invasion of indigenous territories, slavery-like practices, and methane emissions, particularly from cattle farming and in Brazil, and adopt appropriate risk mitigation and prevention measures accordingly;
- measures to assess the situation of suppliers and take appropriate risk mitigation and prevention actions to ensure that its customers’ supply chains do not contribute to deforestation, use slavery-like practices, or infringe on the rights of indigenous peoples;
- establish an easily accessible alert and reporting mechanism for third parties who are or may be affected by negative impacts caused by the Group's activities and customers.
- establish a specific system for monitoring the measures implemented and evaluating their effectiveness.

Comissão Pastoral da Terra and Notre Affaire à Tous v. BNP Paribas

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Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

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A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

Terrestrial means "of the earth" and relates to the risks to ecological system that includes all living organisms and their interactions within land-based environments, such as forests, grasslands, and deserts.

Any compulsory, unrequited payment to the government levied on corporations or individuals. This can be for environmental reasons, such as introducing a Carbon tax to set a price that emitters must pay for the greenhouse gases they emit.

Actions or measures to adapt terrestrial systems to climate change.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

A drought is an extended period of unusually dry weather marked by a significant and sustained lack of precipitation, falling below a specific threshold over a large area for more than a month

Activities involving the catching, processing, and selling of fish for food, recreation, and industry.

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

Air pollution involves harmful contaminants in the air, affecting both indoor and outdoor environments. It can lead to health issues like respiratory diseases and heart problems, and climate impacts such as global warming. Pollutants can damage plants, trees, habitats, and water bodies like rivers and lakes.

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Financial support to help individuals manage the effects of unexpected events, securing their livelihoods and increasing the resilience of people and businesses to the changing climate. It’s especially vital in developing regions where everyday risks, climate-related weather extremes, or crop failures can push people into poverty. Without insurance, people may have to resort to selling assets or cutting consumption to cope with losses.

Activities of industries that extract natural resources, such as mining, oil, and gas, for commercial use.

Work that is productive and delivers a fair income, security in the workplace and social protection for all, better prospects for personal development and social integration, freedom for people to express their concerns, organize and participate in the decisions that affect their lives and equality of opportunity.

Activities that relate to the production of goods and services from forests.

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This sector involves managing waste treatment, sanitation, pollution control and environmental cleanup.

People who are less able to respond to the effects of climate change due to having limited financial or physical assets

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Jobs that contribute to preserving or restoring the environment. We include jobs which require a high amount of green skills or which spend much of their time on green activities, as well as jobs transforming polluting industries.

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Fossil gas, commonly known as natural gas, is a fossil fuel consisting chiefly of methane with smaller amounts of other hydrocarbons and trace gases, found in underground deposits.

This sector involves the wholesale and retail selling of goods.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

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People with different national or cultural traditions from the dominant population

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This sector creates and distributes information and entertainment through television, radio, print, and digital platforms.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Climate change can have a range of impacts on technological system. Extreme weather events can cause infrastructure failures like power outages or damage to roads and bridges, as well as the impacts from waste following natural disasters. Human activities also cause technological impacts, such as the risks posed by oil spillage and leaks.

People who have left their homes, whether through force, voluntarily, or a mixture of both

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Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

A loan is a policy instrument where funds are provided to a borrower with the expectation of repaying the principal plus interest.

Zoning and spatial planning are both methods for guiding the distribution of people and activities in a space, and are regulatory restriction.

A potent, short-lived greehouse gas, largely released from livestock, fossil fuel extraction and waste management.

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Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

The processes through which enterprises can identify, prevent, mitigate and account for how they address their actual and potential adverse impacts. Due diligence is the idea that reasonable precautions should be taken to avoid causing harm to people, the environment, or society. It also involves identifying and mitigating risks before they occur.

Geohazards are adverse geological phenomenon's that are capable of causing widespread damage or loss to property, life and the environment, such as earthquakes, volcano eruptions and tsunamis. Climate change can increase the frequency and severity of some geohazards, such as landslides, and soil erosion.

Comissão Pastoral da Terra and Notre Affaire à Tous v. BNP Paribas - summons

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance