The StopEACOP coalition has welcomed the opening of France’s first major climate trial against an oil and gas multinational, as proceedings began on Thursday, February 19, 2026, at the Paris Court of Justice.
Since 2020, a coalition of advocacy organisations, Notre Affaire à Tous, Sherpa, France Nature Environnement alongside the City of Paris, has asked French courts to require TotalEnergies to drastically cut its greenhouse gas emissions and reduce hydrocarbon production.
However, French prosecutors have intervened in support of TotalEnergies, arguing the duty of vigilance framework shouldn’t extend to climate change.
StopEACOP Campaign Coordinator, Zaki Mamdoo, condemned the move, stating, “It is deplorable that the French prosecutor is actively trying to narrow the interpretation of this new law to protect an oil major from climate accountability.”
As one of the world’s largest historical emitters and among the top global oil and gas companies, TotalEnergies continues to plan production growth of around 3% per year, while maintaining the majority of its investments in fossil fuels until at least 2030. The company is linked to dozens of major new fossil fuel projects worldwide, despite clear scientific consensus that no new expansion is compatible with limiting warming to 1.5°C.
One such project, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP), is a 1,443 km pipeline under construction to transport crude oil from The Great Lakes Region in Uganda to the Port of Tanga in Tanzania. Developed by TotalEnergies and CNOOC, it aims to begin exports in 2026 but has faced significant environmental and human rights criticism and years-long delays after dozens of global financial institutions distanced themselves from the project.
Balach Bakundane, a community organiser with the EACOP Host Communities Organisation, said: “We have heard the promises and targets, but on the EACOP route we live the reality. Families pushed off of their land, livelihoods disrupted, fear used to silence those who speak out. This case matters because it asks whether TotalEnergies can keep expanding oil and gas with no consequences. If there is to be justice, then we need to draw a line in the sand. No more expansion. No more impunity. No more profiteering at our expense.”
This hearing will finally be held, six years after the case was filed, as TotalEnergies has used many procedural arguments to try to escape from its liability. In parallel, delays have also been piling up in the other court case against TotalEnergies – likely based on the French duty of vigilance law, filed by Ugandan affected people as well as five Ugandan and French civil society organisations.
Thursday’s hearing of the “Total climate case” comes at a pivotal moment for global climate accountability. Courts around the world are increasingly recognising that climate change poses a direct threat to fundamental rights, and that major fossil fuel producers cannot be exempt from responsibility.
Recent landmark decisions and advisory opinions by bodies such as the International Court of Justice and the European Court of Human Rights have clarified that both states and corporations have duties to prevent foreseeable climate harm.
For the first time in France, judges will be asked to decide whether an oil and gas multinational can be legally compelled to reduce fossil fuel production, not merely disclose risks or set voluntary targets. This case moves climate litigation beyond promises and pledges toward concrete, enforceable obligations.
A ruling in this case could mark a turning point, helping shift climate litigation from a focus on governments alone to cases capable of reshaping the business models of the world’s largest fossil fuel companies. What the Paris court decides may influence similar cases far beyond France.
“The decision from this court will travel and be felt far beyond France, including here along the EACOP route where communities carry the heaviest costs. We hope that the court does not set a standard that enables further expansion and exploitation while we are made to live with the damage. The law must mean something in the real world, lest it mean nothing at all.” said Brighton Aryampa, Environment and Human Rights Lawyer with Youth for Green Communities, Uganda.