“TotalEnergies in high-stakes French trial over climate change”, 19 February 2026

The case, brought by several NGOs and the city of Paris, is based upon a 2017 law that imposed a "duty of vigilance" on large companies.

TotalEnergies and the plaintiffs are at odds over the reach of the definition of the environment -- whether it means risks on a local scale such as a polluted river or more broadly global warming.

The energy firm's lawyers argued global warming is beyond the scope of the law.

The NGOs also accuse TotalEnergies of not including within its vigilance requirements the "indirect emissions" produced by its end customers burning its products…

The plaintiffs are demanding TotalEnergies stop developing new hydrocarbon projects...

…[A] ruling is not expected for several months.

It "could have systemic implications" for "other sectors, such as transport," said Sherpa's Thea Bounfour...