complaint

Greenpeace France v. France - complaint

<p>This entry was provided by the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law. Please see the terms of use for citation and licensing of third party data.</p>

Litigation

Sabin

Sabin Litigation

decision

Greenpeace France v. France - decision

Filing Year For Action

On December 7th, 2021, Greenpeace France brought an action before the Paris Administrative Court seeking disclosure of the partnership between the Louvre Museum and the TotalEnergies Foundation as well as the list of members of the Louvre Business Circle. The responsibility of public institutions that accept donations from large oil and gas companies is at stake. 

TotalEnergies has regularly funded exhibitions at the Louvre Museum for more than twenty years. Until 2019, the Louvre Museum’s activity reports included TotalEnergies in its list of sponsors. In addition, TotalEnergies was one of the founding members of the 2004 Louvre Business Circle, which brings together corporate sponsors. Greenpeace requested copies of the partnership agreements between TotalEnergies and Louvre Museum. According to <a href="https://www.greenpeace.fr/espace-presse/greenpeace-saisit-la-justice-face-a-lopacite-du-louvre-sur-ses-partenariats-avec-totalenergies/">Greenpeace</a>, in exchange for these donations, TotalEnergies was able to engage in economic and cultural diplomacy with the countries in which it wished to set up operations or develop business. 

This request comes five months after Greenpeace requested relevant documents from the Louvre Museum and Quai Branly Museum, which are both public institutions under the supervision of the Ministry of Culture. Under French administrative law, any person or legal entity has a right to access administrative documents and may, without having to justify their request, access documents held by the administration within the framework of its public service mission. This right is crucial to understand the decision-making processes and justifications of public policy decisions. While Quai Branly Museum has responded favorably and communicated all the requested partnership agreements signed since January 2015, the Louvre Museum had remained silent. Greenpeace filed a petition for abuse of power against the Louvre Museum for its implicit refusal to disclose administrative documents. 

On January 6, 2022, the French commission on access to administrative documents (Commission d'accès aux documents administratifs) issued a favorable decision for Greenpeace. The Louvre Museum had until February 6, 2022, to send all the requested documents (except the list of projects financed personally by Mr. Pouyanné). Total sent the documents to Greenpeace on January 27, 2022. As a result, Greenpeace France withdrew its claim (which lost its purpose since they obtained the requested documents).

Greenpeace France v. France

The Climate Litigation Database

Find climate change litigation data and indicators for {text}.

{text} litigation

Sabin Center for Climate Change Law provides Climate Litigation Database, a comprehensive database of US and Global climate change caselaw

Quickly and easily search through the complete text of thousands of climate change law and policy documents from every country.

Search the Climate Litigation Database

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.

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 subsidy is a direct or indirect payment to individuals or businesses, typically provided as a government cash payment or a specific tax reduction.

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.

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

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

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

This sector involves activities that impart knowledge and skills to individuals, including formal schooling, vocational training and educational support.

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

Greenpeace France v. France - complaint

Policy instrument

Impacted group

Economic sector

Finance