A Paris court has ordered French energy giant TotalEnergies to disclose the environmental consequences of emissions linked to its oil and gas products and explain how it intends to address them, in a ruling that intensifies legal pressure on one of the world\u2019s biggest fossil fuel producers.<\/p>\n
The decision follows a civil case brought by environmental groups and several French cities seeking to force the company to align its operations with global warming targets set under the 2015 Paris climate agreement.<\/p>\n
The ruling adds to a growing list of legal challenges facing TotalEnergies, including a separate case involving allegations by non-governmental organisations and Ugandan residents over land rights and environmental harm linked to the company\u2019s controversial Tilenga oil project in western Uganda.<\/p>\n
The Tilenga development, described by critics as a \u201ccarbon bomb\u201d, includes plans for more than 400 oil wells in the Tilenga area and about 30 more in the nearby Kingfisher field. The project is also tied to the East African Crude Oil Pipeline, known as EACOP, a nearly 1,500-kilometre pipeline that would transport crude oil from Uganda to the Tanzanian port of Tanga.<\/p>\n
According to the Climate Accountability Institute, the project could generate about 379 million tonnes of climate-heating emissions over its lifetime.<\/p>\n
Expected to begin operations in 2027, EACOP would become the world\u2019s longest heated crude oil pipeline. Uganda\u2019s crude is highly viscous and must be kept at about 50 degrees Celsius for transport. The pipeline is designed to carry up to 246,000 barrels of oil per day and will include a storage terminal and export loading facility in Tanga.<\/p>\n
Environmental groups have raised alarm over the project\u2019s location and ecological footprint. Around 100 of the Tilenga wells are planned inside or near Murchison Falls National Park, Uganda\u2019s largest and oldest protected wildlife area, while the pipeline route cuts through fragile ecosystems, wetlands, rivers and wildlife migration corridors.<\/p>\n
Earth Insight, an environmental advocacy group, says the project threatens 158 wetlands in Uganda, 11 rivers, 44 protected areas and seven key biodiversity zones. In Tanzania, the planned storage and loading facilities are located near marine protected areas, further raising concerns over potential long-term ecological damage.<\/p>\n
TotalEnergies has defended the project, saying strict safeguards have been put in place to avoid, reduce and offset environmental harm. The company says it is working to restore thousands of hectares of forest and wetlands and improve biodiversity in affected areas.<\/p>\n
The company has also rejected allegations of widespread abuse surrounding the project. While NGOs say more than 100,000 people have been displaced and accuse the company of inadequate compensation and poor transparency, TotalEnergies maintains that most affected households have already been compensated and says the project will create tens of thousands of jobs in the region.<\/p>\n
Opponents of the project, however, say local residents have repeatedly gone to court over what they describe as unjust compensation and accuse authorities in Uganda and Tanzania of intimidation and arrests aimed at silencing dissent against the project.<\/p>\n
The case involving the Ugandan and Tanzanian oil development is expected to be heard next year, setting up another major legal battle over one of East Africa\u2019s most contentious energy projects.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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