(WO) — TotalEnergies has filed an appeal of a June 25 ruling by the Paris Judicial Court in a climate-related case brought under France’s duty of vigilance law, arguing the legislation does not apply to global climate change or the actions of the company’s customers.
The lawsuit, brought by several environmental organizations, centers on whether the French energy major’s climate strategy complies with the country’s duty of vigilance law, which requires large companies to identify and prevent human rights and environmental risks associated with their operations and business relationships.
In announcing its appeal, TotalEnergies said it agrees with the position taken by France’s Public Prosecutor’s Office that climate change is a global issue that falls outside the scope of the duty of vigilance law. The company also argued the legislation is intended to address risks arising from a company’s own activities, subsidiaries, suppliers and subcontractors—not the downstream use of its products by customers.
TotalEnergies further noted that the European Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) does not extend corporate responsibility to customers’ activities, arguing that requiring companies in sectors such as energy, transportation and defense to control how customers use their products would be inconsistent with the objectives of the law and principles of legal certainty.
The company said it will present those arguments before the Paris Court of Appeal.
