Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Carbon credits · Uganda · 2020–2025

TotalEnergies reportedly abandoned Congo carbon plantation at 12.5% of target

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.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

TotalEnergies presented its Tilenga oil work in Uganda's national park as net positive for biodiversity, while its 40,000 hectare Batéké plantation in the Republic of the Congo reached about 12.5% of target. At stake: park biodiversity and the credibility of carbon sink claims.

What?
The Batéké plantation in the Republic of the Congo reached about 5,000 hectares, around 12.5% of target, before TotalEnergies was reported to have abandoned it. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (summary of Reporterre)
Where?
Murchison Falls national park area, Uganda (Tilenga); Batéké plateau, Republic of the Congo TotalEnergies
When?
Programme period 2020 to 2030; plantation reported abandoned in 2025. TotalEnergies
Who?
Gained
  • TotalEnergies — A carbon sink programme with spending of up to $100m a year on average (2020 to 2030) TotalEnergies
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
The plantation was meant to offset TotalEnergies' carbon emissions, according to the headline of the source link. Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (summary of Reporterre)
How?
A 40,000 hectare plantation described as a carbon sink programme, alongside Tilenga oil work in the national park. TotalEnergies
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

TotalEnergies promised a net-positive biodiversity outcome for its Tilenga oil work in Uganda's national park, according to a company infographic.

TotalEnergies' 2025 Form 20-F describes a carbon sink programme including a 40,000 hectare plantation at Batéké, with up to $100m a year on average from 2020 to 2030.

By May 2025, about 5,000 hectares had been planted, around 12.5% of the target, and TotalEnergies was reported to have abandoned the plantation, according to a Business & Human Rights Resource Centre summary of a Reporterre report.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    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

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: drilling in the national park under a net-gain commitment (Floodlight report, not checked).
    • None on record Reported without a linked source: farmers were moved off Batéké land for about $1 per hectare, against a previous rent of about $16, and the lease guarantees eviction of anyone claiming customary rights.
    • None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: an official TotalEnergies statement confirming the Batéké abandonment, or whether the Tilenga biodiversity claims have been independently checked.

    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

    2. TotalEnergies 20-F, 2025
      TotalEnergies · 2025

    Communities and civil society

    1. Congo: TotalEnergies abandons forest plantation meant to offset its emissions
      Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (summary of Reporterre) · 2025-05-28

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Science and environment

    Hectare (ha)
    A unit of area equal to 10,000 square metres, about 2.5 acres. 100 hectares make one square kilometre.

    Carbon and conservation finance

    Offset
    Using carbon credits to balance emissions released elsewhere, so that a buyer can claim lower or zero net emissions.
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