Signal TotalEnergies appeals French ruling on customer-emissions climate reporting obligations

Summary

TotalEnergies appealed a Paris court ruling that ordered it to report on and mitigate climate risks arising from emissions generated by customers using its oil and gas products. The original ruling required the company to disclose climate risks linked to its products and set out mitigation plans, rejecting Total's argument that its reporting obligations should be limited in scope. It was the first time France's 2017 corporate duty-of-vigilance law had been applied to climate change in this way. In its appeal, TotalEnergies argues that climate change falls outside the scope of the vigilance law and that companies cannot be held responsible for how customers use their products. The company also notes that the EU's Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive does not extend corporate responsibility to customer activities. The case was originally filed in 2020 by NGOs and the City of Paris, and is seen as a potential precedent for EU-wide reporting rules due to take effect in 2028.