As the planet burns, a French court issues a ruling inviting companies to take their due diligence plans seriously.
On 25 June, as France and much of Europe sweltered in a heatwave, the Paris Ordinary Court [Tribunal Judiciaire] issued a landmark ruling in the case brought by a coalition of associations and the City of Paris against TotalEnergies.
The court’s 34th Chamber, which is specialised at national level in due diligence cases, was called on to answer two questions in particular:
- Do due diligence requirements include climate issues? On this first point, the court notes that the term “environment”, within the meaning of the due diligence law of 27 March 2017, “must be interpreted in its broadest sense, which includes climate change caused by the discharge of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, which is a key component of the environment, something that is part of the negative environmental effects recognised in the international and European undertakings to which France is party”. The court adds that because they are “a serious, present and future threat to the enjoyment of human rights […], climate-related risks must be taken into account by companies in their due diligence plan, wherever identifying these risks forms part of the process of preventing serious breaches of human rights”. It also extends its reasoning to take in Directive (EU) 2024/1760 of 13 June 2024 on corporate sustainability due diligence (the CS3D directive). “The inclusion of climate in the environment is supported by” this directive, the Annex of which (Part I, Section 1, Point 15) prohibits causing “air pollution” and “harmful emissions” [that] “substantially impair the natural bases for the preservation and production of food” [or] “harm a person’s health [or] safety”. The court emphasises that “It is therefore undeniable that the said harmful emissions include greenhouse gas emissions generated by human activities”, specifying that the new “Omnibus directive” has “no impact on the due diligence obligations regime”. Clara Alibert, advocacy officer of CCFD-Terre Solidaire’s Acteurs économiques branch, is delighted: “In spite of deregulation at European level, climate-related due diligence is alive and well”, she observes.
- Do (Scope 3) indirect emissions come within its perimeter? In other words, is the group also accountable for the greenhouse gas emissions of drivers who use its fuels? The court emphasises that the group’s goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, which TotalEnergies sets itself in its due diligence plan, “is based on including scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions only”. The group claims that Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions generated by its subsidiaries’ customers are outside its control and do not come within the scope of application of the due diligence law. In a detailed and clearly explained ruling, the court “deems that greenhouse gas emissions resulting from its activities form part of the climate-related risks included in the scope of application of due diligence” and orders TotalEnergies to include Scope 3 emissions in its risk-mapping, and in the prevention and mitigation actions contained in its due diligence plan, within a period of six months. A hearing will be held on 21 January 2027, to check that the ruling has been implemented.
This ruling – which is the first to apply due diligence to the field of climate change – is the culmination of a legal battle lasting more than six years. Clara Alibert emphasises that the ruling obliges companies to position themselves seriously on Scope 3, and “is a reminder that no multinational company can evade its responsibility when it comes to climate deregulation”. One aspect of this case still remains a blind spot, though: the extreme discretion shown by employee representatives with regard to this question, despite the European trade union movement proclaiming as early as 2014 that “there are no jobs on a dead planet” – a slogan largely forgotten now, in the name of immediate protection for employment. Nevertheless, the prospect of including Scope 3 in risk-mapping partially explains several asset disposals that have taken place in recent years, such as the removal of retail activities (service stations) from the TotalEnergies group’s scope, in 2023. These were sold to the Canadian group Couche-Tard in Germany and the Netherlands, and transferred to a joint venture with Couche-Tard (60%) in Belgium and Luxembourg, together with several thousand jobs.
(Published in IR Notes 277 – 3 July 2026)
