French Court Fines TotalEnergies for Misleading Greenwashing Allegations

Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst

Source: Reuters

Updated: Oct 23 2025

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Source: Reuters

Court Ruling on TotalEnergies: A French civil court found TotalEnergies misled consumers with its 2021 ad campaign claiming it could achieve carbon neutrality by 2050, marking the first application of France's greenwashing law against an energy company.
Penalties and Reparations: The court ordered TotalEnergies to remove misleading statements from its website, pay €8,000 to each of the three NGOs involved, and cover €15,000 in legal fees, with potential daily fines for non-compliance.
Misleading Claims: The court highlighted that TotalEnergies' references to the Paris Accords without clarifying its ongoing expansion of oil and gas production misled consumers about its commitment to a low-carbon economy.
Ongoing Investigations: While the ruling is seen as historic by the NGOs involved, a separate criminal investigation into TotalEnergies by the Nanterre prosecutor’s office is still ongoing.

About the author

Emily J. Thompson

Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.