Paris Court Orders TotalEnergies to Address Scope 3 Emissions but Declines to Limit Production or Set Targets

A Paris court ruled Thursday that TotalEnergies must disclose climate risks linked to emissions from its oil and gas products and amend its vigilance plan to cover those risks. The court found the company’s existing plan incomplete regarding Scope 3 emissions from end users. It gave TotalEnergies six months to update the plan.

The ruling came in a case brought by NGOs and the City of Paris under France’s 2017 corporate duty of vigilance law. The court stated that climate-related risks and impacts fall within the scope of the law. It also said Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions result from the group’s activities because of the link between production and combustion by users.

The court declined to order TotalEnergies to limit overseas exploration and production or to set binding emissions-reduction targets. It noted that the law does not allow judges to impose specific actions on companies. Claimants said TotalEnergies refused to account for 342 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in indirect emissions from end users in 2024.

TotalEnergies said it accounts for less than 2 percent of global production. The case opened in 2020. In 2024 the Paris appeals court allowed it to proceed but dismissed claims from several other local authorities, leaving only the City of Paris with standing.

Deputy mayor Alice Timsit said the city joined the lawsuit because it is experiencing first-hand the impact of climate change on a densely populated urban metropolis.