A Belgian farmer took the French oil and gas giant TotalEnergies to court on Wednesday for its responsibility in climate change, deploring losses in yields caused by bad weather in recent years.
“Climate disruption has very concrete effects for me: loss of yields, extra work and stress when you have to deal with a disorientated crop calendar,” said Hugues Falys, a farmer in the province of Hainaut (western Belgium). , quoted in a press release.
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With the support of the associations FIAN, Greenpeace, Human Rights League (LDH) as well as the Climate Coalition and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), he initiated civil liability action against TotalEnergies before “the company court”, a specialized Belgian court which handles disputes involving companies.
🔴🚨#SeeYouInCourt, TotalEnergies!
With the support of 3 Belgian NGOs, farmer Hugues Falys is taking legal action against the fossil fuel giant for its responsibility in the climate crisis.
The @fidh_fr supports this legal action by providing its… pic.twitter.com/TZlfGh9vZc
— FIDH (@fidh_fr) March 13, 2024
“In recent years, climate change has caused us significant damage and plunged us into great uncertainty regarding the future,” explained the complainant, who is also spokesperson for the Belgian union Fugea, committed to sustainable agriculture.
Put the multinational “face its responsibilities”
Through this action, Hugues Falys and the NGOs who support him claim to want to “make one of the largest multinationals active in fossil fuels face its responsibilities and force it to adopt a credible transition plan”.
Global methane emissions from the fossil fuel industry remained at record levels in 2023, according to analysis published Wednesday by the International Energy Agency (IEA).
Global Methane Tracker 2024 is out now 🚨
It shows methane emissions from the energy sector remained near a record high in 2023.
But announced pledge & policies, including those made at COP28, have the potential to put them into decline soon.
More 👇 https://t.co/YOQMVGRb7E
— International Energy Agency (@IEA) March 13, 2024
They are demanding from TotalEnergies “a cessation of investments in fossil fuel projects, a 60% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and a reduction in its gas and oil production of 75%”. 'by 2040'.
Like other oil multinationals, the French group is regularly singled out by climate and human rights activists.
A controversial project in Uganda and Tanzania
For its part, the French group regretted "the litigation process undertaken", considering that "the issue of climate change and energy transition does not fall under the legal responsibility of a given actor but rather the collective effort of the whole of society”.
He said he had not yet received official notification of the summons.
Like other oil multinationals, TotalEnergies is regularly singled out by climate and human rights activists.
The company is the target of several legal actions against its strategy or against its gas and oil projects, including the very controversial Tilenga/Eacop project in Uganda and Tanzania.
TotalEnergies also explains that it has dedicated five billion dollars to renewable and low-carbon energies in 2023, while five billion are still planned for 2024. “This is the second consecutive year where TotalEnergies will devote more investments to low-carbon energies, only in new hydrocarbon projects,” says the group.