TotalEnergies is an oil and gas supermajor: Its 2020 income ranked seventh among the world’s oil and gas companies. It is one of the 20 fossil fuel companies responsible for more than one-third of the modern era’s total carbon emissions. Associated with countless controversies and involved in many Dodgy Deals, TotalEnergies is actively contributing to climate breakdown.
Banks and other financial institutions must demand that their fossil fuel major clients immediately halt all activities that expand fossil fuel infrastructure, and develop and implement credible phase-out plans for their existing fossil-fuel-based activities, on a timescale aligned with Paris Agreement goals. In the absence of such commitments, banks must stop servicing these clients.
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| Sectors | Oil and Gas Extraction , Gas Electric Power Generation, Pipeline Transportation of Crude Oil, Pipeline Transportation of Natural Gas |
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listed on Euronext Brussels, Euronext Paris, London Stock Exchange & NYSE
TotalEnergies's shareholding structure can be accessed here. |
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| Website | http://www.totalenergies.com |
TotalEnergies is a French multinational integrated oil and gas company. Founded in 1924, it is one of the largest oil and gas companies in the world. Its businesses cover the entire oil and gas chain, from the exploration and production of crude oil and natural gas, to power generation, transportation, refining, petroleum product marketing and the trading of international crude oil and products. In May 2021, the company changed its name from 'Total' to 'TotalEnergies' with the intention of illustrating its investments in the production of green electricity. On December 31st 2021, TotalEnergies' assets amounted to USD 293.4 billion.
TotalEnergies has been involved in numerous cases of corruption, underpaying staff, violating human rights and other social impacts.
Mass forced resettlements in the name of TotalEnergies’ interests include the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, of which TotalEnergies E&P owns 62%. The construction of this project will necessitate the resettlement of local communities and the reclamation of private land, which will endanger livelihoods.
Alleged human rights abuses in Uganda led six NGOs to bring a lawsuit against TotalEnergies in October 2019. TotalEnergies’ oil drilling operations in Lake Albert and Murchison Falls – a protected natural park in Uganda – were investigated for two years. The operation includes a 1,445 kilometre-long oil pipeline, impacting local communities. The investigation revealed serious violations of and threats to human rights, including land-grabbing and intimidation. The case rested on France's new Duty of Vigilance law, which compels TotalEnergies to meet its human rights obligations for the project.
The militarisation of regions has been one consequence of TotalEnergies’ joint Mozambique LNG Project. This gas enterprise has drawn the attention of militants, some of whom killed eight TotalEnergies subcontractors in July 2020. The attack contributed to a surge in the area’s militarisation.
The violation of Indigenous rights has been a consequence of the Vaca Muerta Shale Basin project. Argentina’s Vaca Muerta Shale Basin is one of the largest shale oil and gas reserves in the world and TotalEnergies is helping to exploit it. As a result, public health, the safety of workers, air quality, the ancestral lands of Indigenous people and the likelihood of earthquakes are all being negatively affected.
TotalEnergies’ Wikipedia page has an overview of the company's numerous controversies.
An historically significant contributor to climate change, TotalEnergies' CO2 emissions between 1965 and 2017 amount to 12.35 billion tonnes, according to the Climate Accountability Institute. This makes TotalEnergies one of the world’s largest contributors to the adverse impacts of climate change.
Greenwashing is obscuring TotalEnergies’ lack of commitment to mitigating climate change. Total rebranded as TotalEnergies in 2021 to illustrate its investments in the production of green electricity, but its business plans are nowhere near being Paris-aligned. According to 2022’s Big Oil Reality Check report, TotalEnergies’ climate pledges and plans are ‘grossly insufficient’. The report noted that the company has no stated end-date for fossil fuel production, as well as multiple, conflicting sets of emissions reduction targets. In 2021, the International Energy Agency (IEA) stated “there is no need for investment in new fossil fuel supply in [their] net zero pathway” if the world is to reach net-zero by 2050; TotalEnergies continues to pour most of its investments into new fossil fuel projects, with the only stipulation being that they must emit lower-intensity greenhouse gases than TotalEnergies’ portfolio average.
TotalEnergies' operations were responsible for 41 million tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019. TotalEnergies' oil and gas exploration activities suggest this is set to continue.
Qatar's oil and gas fields TotalEnergies signed an agreement with QatarEnergy to increase the extraction of gas from Qatar's North Field, the biggest non-associated gas field in the world and one of the world's largest carbon bombs. TotalEnergies is a shareholder in North Field East and North Field South. If all the reserves of Qatar's oil and gas fields are burned this will lead to an additional 50 gigatonnes of CO2 emissions. These emissions will lead to USD 20 trillion in economic damage and 11 million people dying prematurely. These deaths will most likely take place in poor, marginalised and/or Indigenous communities who bear very little responsibility for causing the climate crisis.
Investing in pro-fossil fuel lobbying means that TotalEnergies is actively trying to rein in pro-climate momentum. The company is no longer a member of the American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers' group, but in 2019 TotalEnergies spent about USD 30 million on lobbying to delay, control or block policies to tackle climate change. As of May 2022, TotalEnergies had not committed to stop lobbying or making adverts that obstruct climate change solutions.
On 7 April 2022, 12 commercial banks validated a new, USD 8 billion revolving credit facility for TotalEnergies. See below for more details on banks involved.
From 2016-2021, 31 commercial banks provided TotalEnergies with USD 51.3 billion in lending and underwriting services. (Please note that these BOCC figures are adjusted for the percentage represented by fossil fuel activities in TotalEnergies' overall business, which is approximately 92%).
During its 2021 AGM, Total rebranded to TotalEnergies to signal its diversification into renewable energy sources and electricity.
