French Court Orders TotalEnergies to Account for Scope 3 Emissions

On 25 June 2026 the Paris civil court ordered oil major TotalEnergies to amend its climate‑risk plan within six months to include its Scope 3 greenhouse‑gas emissions, the indirect emissions from the sale and use of its fuels. The ruling came after a lawsuit brought by the city of Paris, several French municipalities and NGOs including Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa and France Nature Environnement, which argued that the company had failed to meet the 2017 French vigilance law on corporate environmental duties.

The judges rejected TotalEnergies’ defence that only Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions should be reported, stating that the company can influence the emissions generated by its products and therefore must devise measures to reduce them. Scope 3 accounts for roughly 90 % of the group’s carbon footprint – about 376 million tonnes of CO₂‑equivalent, comparable to the total emissions of France. The court warned that inadequate follow‑up could trigger severe penalties from next year. The decision follows a previous Paris judgment in October 2025 that found the firm guilty of green‑washing and is seen as a potential precedent for climate‑law enforcement across Europe.