French Courts rule TotalEnergies were “greenwashing” in landmark case

On 23 October 2025, the Paris Judicial Court handed down a judgment in a claim brought by various NGOs against oil major TotalEnergies SE and its subsidiary TotalEnergies Electricité et Gaz France. The court found that Total had misled consumers in its messaging about its climate policies. 

This landmark legal action questioned the accuracy of statements concerning Total’s climate commitments, which highlighted, in particular, the company’s investments in renewable energy – despite continuing its business in oil and gas.

Court Ruling

The court examined forty-four statements made in Total’s advertising. Of these, the court found that statements concerning, in particular, Total’s stated ambitions to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and to become a major player in the energy transition were likely to, “mislead the consumer about the scope of the Group's environmental commitments”.

Total were told to remove the offending statements from its website within a month or face a €10,000 fine per day. Total were also ordered to post the court’s ruling on its website, with the same penalty for noncompliance, alongside payments of compensation and costs to the claimant NGOs.

In response, Total have prepared a press release (see - Clarification by TotalEnergies | TotalEnergies.com), emphasizing that it “acknowledges the decision of the Paris Judicial Court, which dismissed the majority of the claims brought against it, notably those targeting the Company’s corporate communications”. 

Comment

As the first of its kind in France, this ruling has set an important precedent for climate-related advertising. Furthermore, the ruling provides clarification around the French legal framework relating to environmental communications, specifically in relation to claims connected to the sale of products to consumers.