Climate due diligence : TotalEnergies convicted by Paris Judicial Court

TotalEnergies has been convicted by the Paris Judicial Court for failing to fulfil its duty of climate vigilance, in the legal proceedings brought by Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa, France Nature Environnement and the City of Paris, the claimants announced on 25 June 2026.

In this "landmark" ruling, the court recognised that the company had a duty of climate vigilance which "extended to its emissions resulting from the combustion of oil and gas products (Scope 3), accounting for nearly 90 per cent of its emissions", rather than merely its direct emissions (Scope 1 and 2).

The court thus rejected the position defended by the Crown Prosecution Service at the hearing, "in support of TotalEnergies", that the Act of 27/03/2017 on the duty of care does not apply to climate issues.

This law requires companies to identify the climate risks posed by their activities and those of their subsidiaries, and to take the necessary measures to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

TotalEnergies must therefore finalise its due diligence plan "within six months", including a new climate risk assessment…