Description
ClientEarth launched a court case against Total over greenwashing complaints. They work together with Greenpeace France, Friends of the Earth France and Notre Affaire à Tous.
Total’s rebranding
Total has rebranded itself as TotalEnergies, which came with a big advertising campaign featuring wind turbines and renewable energy projects. These ads give the impression that the company is part of the solution to climate change. Total has said to be aiming for net zero by 2050 and that it wants to become a major player in the energy transition.
Total’s polluting reality
The reality is however that Total is one of the biggest polluters in the world, with emissions higher than those of the country of France itself. Total is planning massive fossil fuel expansion projects, increasing production of gas, and relying on unproven technology, while avoiding meaningful action to reduce emissions.
‘Net zero’
The claim argues that the company’s ads are misleading the public by skewing the meaning of concepts like ‘net zero’. ‘Since Total does not have adequate plans to reduce its emissions and shift away from fossil fuels, its advertisements risk misleading the public’, ClientEarth lawyer Johnny White argues.
Read the court claim here.
