First climate change litigation against a company in France: 14 local authorities and 5 NGOs take Total to court
Fourteen local authorities, together with the NGOs Notre Affaire à Tous , Sherpa , France Nature Environnement, Eco Maires and ZEA , are taking the oil giant Total to court, requesting that Total be ordered to take the necessary measures to drastically reduce its greenhouse gases emissions. This is the first litigation in France that aims to raise the climate ambitions of a multinational oil company...
After having formally served formal notice on Total on June 19, the local authorities and NGOs are now forced to take legal action. They are relying on the Law on the Duty of Vigilance, as well as on the obligation of environmental vigilance arising from the Environmental Charter...
Faced with the State's inaction on climate change, the local authorities and NGOs are asking the Nanterre court 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°C...
We request the Nanterre Tribunal to: ...
“ORDER TOTAL S.A. to publish, within six months from the date of the judgement, a new vigilance plan...
The approach taken by local authorities and NGOs [...] is [...] part of [a] worldwide movement, which aims to recognize the climate responsibility of the most polluting companies...