It appears that accusations of “greenwashing” will continue to haunt France’s Total Energy, which has repeatedly asserted that it is on track to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050.
The giant energy company has been accused of “greenwashing” since December 2021, as part of an investigation into “misleading commercial practices” in the field of the environment, according to information seen by the specialized energy platform, quoting the French-language “France 24” satellite channel (France 24). France 24).
This investigation was opened by the Economic and Financial Unit of the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Nanterre, following a criminal complaint from several environmental defense associations, in October 2020.
The Public Prosecutor’s Office stated that the associations, in particular, accuse the giant oil company of polluting the air, according to what was confirmed by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Nanterre.
In April 2022, this group of associations filed a new complaint, accusing Total Energy of “other practices” that, according to them, are the origin of “environmental extermination”, but that they are still under study and have not led – at this stage – to open an investigation.
Total responds to accusations of greenwashing
For its part, Total Energy has rejected accusations of “greenwashing” against it, reaffirming – once again – its ambitious goal of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050.
The company said – in a series of tweets posted on its official Twitter account -: “Our strategy is being implemented in a tangible way, such as investments, new businesses, and a significant reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.”
She added, “Total Energy has 17 gigawatts of renewable energy installed worldwide, after our balance was zero in this field in 2018. It also has a business portfolio of about 50 gigawatts in various stages of development.”
We contest the accusations & refutations of our ambition Net Zero 2050, sympathetic to society. Our stratégie is mise en œuvre de manière concrète (investissements, nvx métiers, 📉 significative of émissions from GES..)
— TotalEnergies (@TotalEnergies) January 26, 2023
And the company stressed – in its statements, which were monitored by the specialized energy platform – that it is among the top 5 global investors in the field of renewable energy.
“Renewable energy now accounts for more than 20% of our investments. Over the next 10 years, 50% of our investments will go to renewables, and the other half to gas,” she said.
“The 100 gigawatts of renewable energy projects in our portfolio equates to more than $60 billion in other projects over 10 years,” she added.
It also noted that the company’s direct emissions in Scope 1 and 2 have decreased by 20% since 2015, in line with the target of a 40% reduction by 2030.
Previous lawsuit against Total
In March 2022, Total Energy faced a lawsuit filed by a number of climate activists, accusing it of “greenwashing” in its advertising campaign.
The legal action taken by a group of non-profit organizations – led by Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth – centered around the rebranding from Total to Total Energy.
Prosecutors said the ad campaign breached European consumer protection law because it misled the public about the group’s commitment to be “carbon neutral” by 2050, even though the company plans more investments in fossil fuel projects, according to the Financial Times. Financial Times).
When Total changed its name to Total Energy in 2021, it said it was committed to “producing and providing energies that are more affordable, reliable and clean than ever before” and to becoming a “global player in the energy transition”.
The lawsuit stressed that reaching carbon neutrality “means a sharp decrease in greenhouse gas emissions for Total Energy, and thus a significant and continuous decrease in its oil and gas production.”
However, the company intends to maintain oil production and increase gas production, including the development of the controversial multi-billion dollar East African Crude Oil pipeline project in Uganda.
Total Energy responded at the time that it was on track to achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2050, and that claims of greenwashing were false.
Green Total Energy Investments
The CEO of French Total Energy, Patrick Pouyanné, had categorically refused – in previous statements – to describe what the company is doing as “greenwashing”, stressing that it will finance renewable energy projects amounting to $7 billion.
This statement came in response to a question posed by a reader of the French-language newspaper Les Echos, about Total Energy’s greenwashing, given that renewables now represent a very small percentage of its activities, contrary to what its new name and advertising campaigns suggest.
Pouyanné said – in an interview with the French newspaper -: “This year we will finance renewable energy projects to a value of $7 billion, including more than 3 billion shares… We are talking here about 6 gigawatts of renewable electricity that will be operational in 2022, Or 2% of this global market.
He added, “This is more than 60 billion green investments by 2030… Our transformation is real, it cannot be called greenwashing.”
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