French prosecutors intervene in defense of TotalEnergies in climate trialhttps://www.lemonde.fr/en/environment/article/2026/02/17/french-prosecutors-intervene-in-defense-of-totalenergies-in-climate-trial_6750572_114.htmlIn France's first major climate trial against an oil and gas giant, opening Thursday, February 19 at the Paris Court of Justice, TotalEnergies will receive unexpected support from the prosecutor's office. Since 2020, a coalition of advocacy groups (Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa, France Nature Environnement) and the City of Paris have asked the courts to require TotalEnergies to drastically reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by cutting its hydrocarbon production, in order to comply with the Paris Agreement target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C.
The case is based on France's law on due diligence, enacted in 2017. It requires companies with more than 5,000 employees in France (or over 10,000 worldwide) to implement a plan to identify risks and prevent serious violations of human rights, health and the environment linked to their activities and those of their subsidiaries, suppliers and subcontractors.
In an unusual move, the prosecutor's office intervened on Tuesday, February 3, as a "joined party," aligning with TotalEnergies. Such intervention by the prosecutor's office in ongoing civil proceedings is extremely rare and justified only when issues of general interest are at stake.
According to the brief, reviewed by Le Monde, the prosecutor's office, like the multinational, considers that "the scope of the due diligence law does not extend to climate change." It argues that global warming is a "worldwide phenomenon," that it "concerns everyone, but is essentially the responsibility of the international community and states." It calls for a restrictive interpretation of the law. According to its conclusions, "it cannot be up to large French companies alone to bear a global obligation to protect human rights and fundamental freedoms. The same applies to the environment."