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 / Killings and repression of defenders · France · 2022–2024

TotalEnergies v Greenpeace France

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: 1 none on record · 1 insufficient · 1 not measured · 1 disputed · 1 unclear See the gaps

In 2023 TotalEnergies sued Greenpeace France over a November 2022 report on the company's emissions. On 28 March 2024 the Paris Judicial Court dismissed the suit on procedural grounds.

455 Mt vs about 1.64 Gt CO2e estimateEmissions figures in dispute for 2019
TotalEnergies' declared figure against Greenpeace's estimate, as stated in the sources reviewed.

Status As of March 2024: suit dismissed on procedural grounds by the Paris Judicial Court; no appeal found in the sources reviewed.

What?
TotalEnergies sued Greenpeace France over a report on its emissions; the Paris Judicial Court dismissed the suit on procedural grounds. Climate Case Chart
Where?
Paris, France. Climate Case Chart
When?
Report November 2022; suit 2023; dismissal 28 March 2024. Climate Case Chart
Who?
Gained
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
not on record beyond the claim for removal of the report.
How?
TotalEnergies asked for the report's removal plus €2,000 per day; the court found the summons too vague under Art. 54 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Climate Case Chart
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

In November 2022 Greenpeace France published a report on TotalEnergies' emissions. TotalEnergies had declared 455 Mt CO2e for 2019; Greenpeace estimated about 1.64 Gt.

In 2023 TotalEnergies brought a suit over the report. It asked the court to order the report's removal and to impose €2,000 per day.

On 28 March 2024 the Paris Judicial Court dismissed the suit on procedural grounds, finding the summons too vague under Article 54 of the Code of Civil Procedure.

  1. 2022November: Greenpeace France report on TotalEnergies' emissions
  2. 2023TotalEnergies sues over the report, seeking its removal plus €2,000 per day
  3. 202428 March: Paris Judicial Court dismisses the suit on procedural grounds

What was said

Claims, in the words of those who made them.

Where accounts differ

Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.

What were TotalEnergies' 2019 emissions?
Company or project
TotalEnergies

Declared 455 Mt CO2e for 2019.

Communities and civil society
Greenpeace France

Estimated about 1.64 Gt CO2e for 2019 in its November 2022 report.

Courts
Paris Judicial Court

Dismissed the suit on procedural grounds (summons too vague); no finding on the figures.

Climate Case Chart

How it looked

What was shown, beside what was recorded.

Shown

    Recorded

    • TotalEnergies declared 455 Mt CO2e for 2019; Greenpeace estimated about 1.64 Gt.
    • 28 March 2024: the Paris Judicial Court dismissed the suit on procedural grounds (summons too vague, Art. 54 of the Code of Civil Procedure).
      Climate Case Chart

    Who gained

    Money that reached nature, beside money that stayed elsewhere.

    Reached nature or the ground

    Not published
    No figure published.

    Gained elsewhere

    Not totalled
    Currency: EUR · Window: 2023–2024. All figures cover the same period. * Estimate built from cited figures.

    Responses on record

    • TotalEnergies (2023): Asked the court to order the removal of the Greenpeace report and €2,000 per day.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    1. 2023–2024-03-28Defendant won
      TotalEnergies v Greenpeace France
      Paris Judicial Court · Civil · TotalEnergies → Greenpeace France

      TotalEnergies sued over a November 2022 Greenpeace report, seeking its removal plus €2,000 per day. The court dismissed the suit on 28 March 2024 on procedural grounds: the summons was too vague under Art. 54 of the Code of Civil Procedure. Climate Case Chart

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What nature saw

    Outcomes measured on the ground, and nature's note.

    Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.

    Declared vs estimated 2019 emissions
    455 Mt vs about 1.64 Gt CO2e
    TotalEnergies' declaration against Greenpeace's estimate
    Outcome of the suit
    Dismissed
    Paris Judicial Court, 28 March 2024, on procedural grounds; no ruling on the figures

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
    Court ruling existsNo independent ecological evaluation

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: No independent ecological evaluation is on record.

    Accounts

    • Disputed What were TotalEnergies' 2019 emissions?

    Record

    • Unclear The court dismissed the suit on procedural grounds, so the sources reviewed give no ruling on which emissions figure is correct.
    • Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: costs of €15,000 awarded to Greenpeace.
    • None on record No link between TotalEnergies and the Uganda EACOP arrests was established in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not applicable: the matter concerns a lawsuit over a report, and the sources reviewed give no environmental harm event.

    Who paid?

    not on record; a €15,000 costs award to Greenpeace is reported but unverified.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

    Researchers

    1. TotalEnergies v. Greenpeace France (SLAPP case)
      Climate Case Chart · 2024-03-28

    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

    Places and local terms

    EACOP
    The East African Crude Oil Pipeline, planned to carry oil from western Uganda to the port of Tanga in Tanzania.
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