Controversies
Controversies tied to this brand in public sources. A listing is not a finding of fault.
Back to profile6 entries
2024
South African advertising regulator finds sustainability claims misleading
South Africa’s advertising regulator ruled that a TotalEnergies sustainability-focused campaign, run with the country’s parks authority, was misleading in its environmental presentation. The decision intensified wider allegations that the company’s communications could overstate the environmental benefits of its transition strategy.
2023
Mozambique LNG security and human-rights allegations
TotalEnergies’ Mozambique LNG project has faced criticism concerning the handling of civilian displacement, security risks and the company’s response to violence in Cabo Delgado. Reporting and legal complaints have examined whether the company adequately addressed risks to workers and local communities after an armed attack near the project area.
2022
Russian operations after the invasion of Ukraine
After Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, TotalEnergies announced that it would not finance new Russian projects but retained interests in Novatek and Russian LNG assets for a period. Activists and political critics argued that the remaining interests and associated gas supply relationships were insufficiently aligned with sanctions and corporate-exit expectations.
2022
Tilenga and East African Crude Oil Pipeline controversy
Civil-society groups have criticized TotalEnergies’ Tilenga oil project in Uganda and the associated East African Crude Oil Pipeline for alleged risks to communities, wetlands, Lake Victoria, protected areas and wildlife. French and Ugandan organizations have pursued legal actions and public campaigns under France’s corporate duty-of-vigilance framework.
2020
Total sued over carbon emission targets
Lawsuit filed
Fourteen local governments and several NGOs in France sued Total, alleging that it had not done enough to reduce its carbon emissions and fight global warming. The plaintiffs asked a court to order Total to recognize risks generated by its activities and align with a path consistent with limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
Company response
Clarification — Total
Total “regrets” that legal action has been taken when “solutions required to meet both the need for energy for all and the climate change stakes require a cooperation of all players,” the company said in an emailed statement. “Total has publicly acknowledged the climate issues for a long time, and take them into account in its strategy.”
Source excerpt
Local authorities, including from Grenoble near the Alps, are asking a court near Paris to order Total to “recognize the risks generated by its activities and to align itself on a trajectory compatible with limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius,” Sherpa, an activist group that’s part of the legal action, said in a statement on Tuesday.
Oil giant Total SA is being sued by 14 local governments and a handful of non-governmental organizations in France for not doing enough to reduce its carbon emissions and fight global warming.
1971
Early knowledge and public communication on climate change
Academic research and historical reporting have argued that Total’s leadership and internal experts were aware of the risks associated with global warming from at least the 1970s, while the company’s public communication during later decades questioned or delayed acceptance of climate science and climate action. The issue has become a major part of criticism of the TotalEnergies transition narrative.