Cases / Lobbying, PR and greenwashing · Netherlands · 2024–2026
Amsterdam votes to ban fossil fuel and meat adverts; Paris court faults TotalEnergies
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
Amsterdam's council voted 27 to 17 in January 2026 for a fossil fuel advertising ban that also covers meat products. In October 2025 a Paris court found TotalEnergies' claim to be carbon neutral by 2050 misleading.
What?
Municipal rules in The Hague and Amsterdam restrict fossil fuel adverts in public spaces, and a Paris court ruled a TotalEnergies climate claim misleading. CMS
Where?
The Hague and Amsterdam (Netherlands); Paris (France) CMS
When?
September 2024 (The Hague ban adopted); 1 January 2025 (in force); 23 October 2025 (Paris ruling); January 2026 (Amsterdam vote); May 2026 (Amsterdam ban in force)
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
- TotalEnergies — fined 8,000 euros per entity and 15,000 euros in costs over its 2050 carbon-neutral claim ESG Today
Harmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Municipal rules restrict advertising in public spaces; the Paris court applied consumer protection law to a carbon-neutral claim. Le Club des Juristes
6 of 6 questions answered from the record
What happened
The record, in order.
CMS reported that The Hague's ban on fossil fuel, flight, cruise and fossil-fuel car adverts in public spaces, adopted in September 2024, took effect on 1 January 2025, and that a court upheld it in April 2025.
DeSmog reported that Amsterdam's council voted 27 to 17 in January 2026 for a ban that also covers meat products, which took effect in May 2026, despite a warning from JCDecaux, the largest outdoor advertiser.
ESG Today reported that in October 2025 the Paris court found TotalEnergies' claim to be carbon neutral by 2050 misleading, ordering 8,000 euros per entity plus 15,000 euros in costs.
Selectra reported in August 2026 that France's 2021 law banned fossil-energy adverts on paper, but no implementing decree has been issued, and that a second draft targets 1 January 2027 and exempts equipment such as gas boilers.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
- 2025-04Defendant wonChallenge to The Hague ban on fossil fuel advertsThe Hague court · Civil · ANVR, TUI and others → The Hague municipality
The court upheld the ban and found that this kind of commercial advertising is not covered by constitutional protection, CMS reported. CMS
- 2025-10-23Claimant wonTotalEnergies 2050 carbon-neutral claimParis court · Civil · Not stated in the sources reviewed. → TotalEnergies
The court found the claim to be carbon neutral by 2050 misleading and ordered 8,000 euros per entity plus 15,000 euros in costs, ESG Today reported. ESG Today
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record Not found: any before-and-after study measuring the effect of the bans.
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: corporate brand adverts could continue until 2028.
- None on record Not found: whether TotalEnergies has appealed the Paris ruling.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: ✓ Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Company or project
Press and investigations
- French court rules TotalEnergies misled consumers with climate claimsESG Today · 2025-10-23
- Decree on fossil energy advertising ban and boiler exemptionsSelectra · 2026-08-04
- The Paris tribunal sanctions TotalEnergies for greenwashing (partial)Le Club des Juristes · 2025-10-23
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