On March 2, 2022, Greenpeace France, Les Amis de la Terre France, and Notre Affaire à Tous, supported by ClientEarth as a third-party intervener, filed an action before the Paris Judicial Tribunal against TotalEnergies SE and its subsidiary TotalEnergies Électricité et Gaz France. The NGOs sought an injunction and compensation for moral damages, alleging that the companies’ advertising campaign launched in May 2021 to accompany Total’s rebranding to TotalEnergies misled consumers about the company’s environmental performance and climate commitments.

The applicants argued that the campaign, which promoted TotalEnergies’ “ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050” and its claim to be “a major player in the energy transition,” constituted a misleading commercial practice under Articles L.121-1 et seq. of the Consumer Code and Article L.142-2 of the Environment Code. They claimed these assertions were factually inaccurate, given the company’s ongoing expansion of fossil fuel projects, and that they were likely to mislead consumers by suggesting compatibility with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target. The applicants also challenged statements concerning the environmental merits of fossil gas and agrofuels, arguing that these claims amounted to greenwashing.

In its decision of October 23, 2025, the Tribunal held that TotalEnergies and its subsidiary had committed misleading commercial practices by disseminating messages about their “ambition to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050” and their aspiration to be “a major player in the energy transition.” The court found that these statements, used in direct connection with the promotion and sale of energy products to consumers, were environmental claims likely to mislead the public as to the company’s actual contribution to the fight against climate change. The Tribunal concluded that TotalEnergies’ reference to “carbon neutrality by 2050” echoed the global scientific and policy framework under the Paris Agreement, yet the company’s continued investment in fossil fuels contradicted that trajectory. Consequently, the claims were deemed likely to alter consumers’ economic behavior.

The Tribunal ordered TotalEnergies to withdraw the offending statements from its website within one month, under a penalty of EUR 10,000 per day of delay, and to publish the decision on the homepage of its French commercial website for 180 consecutive days. The court awarded each of the three NGOs EUR 8,000 for moral damages and a total of EUR 15,000 in legal costs.

By contrast, the Tribunal rejected the plaintiffs’ claims concerning fossil gas and agrofuels, finding that the related communications were informational rather than commercial in nature and therefore fell outside the scope of the Consumer Code. It also dismissed the alternative claims based on ecological damage and breach of the duty of environmental vigilance, holding that no causal link between the advertisements and harm to the atmosphere had been demonstrated.

This case marks the first successful greenwashing judgment in Europe against a major oil and gas company for misleading “net zero” claims under consumer protection law, setting a precedent for the interpretation of climate-related advertising in light of EU Directive 2005/29/EC and the forthcoming Directive (EU) 2024/825 on environmental claims.

Greenpeace France and Others v. TotalEnergies SE and TotalEnergies Electricité et Gaz France

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Greenpeace France and Others v. TotalEnergies SE and TotalEnergies Electricité et Gaz France - decision

Filed

France

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

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.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

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

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

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

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 target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

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

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater systems to climate change.

Actions or measures to adapt freshwater, coastal and marine systems to climate change.

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

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

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

Risks to the ecosystem health of the marine environment, including ocean warming, ocean acidification, and ocean deoxygenation, harming biodiversity, species health, ecosystem services, and coastal community livelihoods.

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.

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.

Energy derived from biological compounds that are renewable due to their short life cycle within the carbon dioxide cycle.

Production of electricity and heat from solar irradiation.

Kinetic energy of airflow transformed into useful energy, mostly electrical energy.

Oil is a combustible liquid fossil fuel composed mainly of hydrocarbons, occurring as crude oil and refined into petroleum products such as petrol, diesel and kerosene.

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.

Coal is a combustible sedimentary rock formed from carbonised plant matter, rich in carbon and hydrocarbons, and occurring in several main types including hard coal and brown coal.

People whose health, both mental and physical, makes them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change

The activities of industries involved in the production, distribution, and sale of energy, including electricity, gas, and renewables.

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

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

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

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

This sector involves the distribution, treatment, and conservation of water resources.

Climate change impacts our society by disrupting the natural, economic and social systems we depend on. Physical hazards and underlying vulnerabilities can lead to increased resource competition for food and water, which can heighten the risk of conflict.

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.

Greenpeace France and Others v. TotalEnergies SE and TotalEnergies Electricité et Gaz France - decision

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Renewable energy

Fossil fuel

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector

Adaptation/resilience

Finance