A landmark legal case in Belgium could set a precedent by holding TotalEnergies accountable for its role in climate change and human rights abuses, amid an escalating global trend of climate and corporate accountability lawsuits.
In Belgium, a significant legal case is unfolding that could set new precedents for holding multinational corporations accountable for their role in climate change. Hugues Falys, an organic farmer from the region of Ath in Hainaut, has initiated a lawsuit against the French energy giant TotalEnergies in a Tournai court. Falys alleges that his agricultural business is increasingly impacted by climate change, linked to the fossil fuel activities of companies like TotalEnergies, and seeks both financial compensation and a court order compelling the company to drastically reduce its fossil fuel production and emissions. This case has the backing of prominent NGOs including Greenpeace, FIAN, and the Ligue des droits humains, reflecting a broader mobilization of civil society to pressurise major oil and gas companies.
This Belgian lawsuit is emblematic of a wider, international trend in climate litigation where citizens, local governments, and non-governmental organizations pursue direct legal challenges against energy corporations. Over the past two decades, nearly 100 similar lawsuits have been filed against major players such as BP, ExxonMobil, and Shell. While some courts have mandated governments to protect environmental rights, as seen in rulings in the Netherlands, France, and the US state of Montana, corporations have so far largely evaded direct financial liability for climate-related damages. The Belgian case, therefore, is closely watched by legal experts and policy makers, as it tests whether courts in Belgium will join the growing number of jurisdictions willing to impose binding climate obligations on multinational companies. The proceedings are intensively followed, with TotalEnergies defending the stance that individual responsibility for climate impact is an inappropriate legal vehicle to advance the energy transition. The judgement is expected by early next year.
Concurrently, TotalEnergies faces grave accusations far beyond climate-related litigation. In France, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and partner groups have filed a criminal complaint alleging complicity in war crimes, torture, and enforced disappearances connected to the company’s LNG project in the Cabo Delgado province of Mozambique. The complaint focuses on the period from July to September 2021, when security forces known as the Joint Task Force, funded and supported by TotalEnergies under an agreement with the Mozambican government, allegedly carried out severe human rights abuses against civilians. These claims include detentions, beatings, disappearances, and possible executions affecting dozens of people near the gas site. Internal documents obtained by investigative journalists and NGOs suggest that TotalEnergies was aware or should have been aware of these violations but continued its support to the military unit responsible for site security. The complaint has been lodged with the French National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor, which investigates international crimes.
TotalEnergies has firmly denied any knowledge of the alleged abuses, emphasizing that its employees were not present during the incidents and highlighting its efforts to implement internal reforms, new security standards, and enhanced oversight in Mozambique. The company points to training provided to hundreds of soldiers on international safety principles and its own request for independent investigations into the humanitarian situation. Yet human rights experts, such as Amnesty International’s Mandy De Bruin, argue that a multinational company cannot plausibly claim ignorance when it financially and materially supports armed forces accused of serious violations. This current legal action supplements a prior investigation into the company related to alleged failure to assist civilians during a jihadist attack in the same region.
The Mozambique LNG project, with an estimated valuation of $20 billion and a significant stake held by TotalEnergies, represents one of the most ambitious liquefied natural gas ventures globally. Despite the violent conflict and humanitarian crisis in Cabo Delgado, the company announced plans in 2025 to lift the force majeure declared in 2021 and resume operations under strict security protocols, targeting production by 2029. This decision has met with intense scrutiny due to ongoing conflict and the project’s controversial social and environmental record.
Across all these controversies, TotalEnergies exemplifies the complex challenges facing energy giants operating in regions with fragile governance and security contexts, as well as those grappling with mounting pressures to address their role in the climate crisis. Originating from mergers of Total, Fina, and Elf, the company has long been active in countries where economic interests intersect with human rights concerns. Historical controversies include involvement in Myanmar under military rule and various conflicts in African nations tied to oil and gas exploitation.
Greenpeace and other civil society groups highlight that TotalEnergies is among the worst offenders globally in terms of planned fossil fuel ‘climate bombs’, massive projects each capable of generating over one billion tons of CO₂ emissions. According to databases like CarbonBombs.org, alongside firms such as Saudi Aramco, it is a leading developer of new fossil fuel projects with enormous climate impacts.
Environmental and human rights advocacy thus increasingly demands that multinationals be assessed not solely on their financial results but according to a comprehensive view of their global footprint, from their greenhouse gas emissions to how they engage with security forces amid conflict zones. As societal expectations rise, the mounting legal challenges against TotalEnergies may serve as a bellwether for a new era of accountability where business-as-usual is no longer tolerated, and where the intersection of climate justice, human rights, and corporate governance is rigorously scrutinised by courts and the public alike.
- https://www.demorgen.be/nieuws/de-druk-op-het-machtige-totalenergies-neemt-toe-ook-bij-andere-bedrijven-liggen-de-schandalen-voor-het-rapen~b8ddcd42/ – Please view link – unable to able to access data
- https://apnews.com/article/4e2624954b90ea740f6232497be05e54 – A Belgian farmer, Hugues Falys, is suing French energy giant TotalEnergies in a Tournai court, alleging that the company’s operations are contributing to climate change, harming agriculture and society. The case demands financial compensation and a reduction in oil and gas production by TotalEnergies to limit greenhouse gas emissions. This lawsuit is part of a broader global trend, with nearly 100 similar cases filed against major oil companies like BP, Exxon Mobil, and Shell over the past two decades. Despite the rising number of such cases, none have yet resulted in companies being held financially responsible for climate-related damage. While some legal victories have come against governments — such as rulings in the Netherlands, France, and Montana affirming citizens’ rights to a clean environment — courts have largely resisted holding corporations directly accountable. International legal bodies have also begun recognizing states’ obligations under international law to combat climate change, signaling a potential shift in global environmental litigation. Proceedings in the Belgian case are expected to conclude by mid-December.
- https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/society-equity/rights-group-accuses-totalenergies-war-crime-complicity-mozambique-2025-11-18/ – A European human rights organization, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), has filed a criminal complaint in France accusing TotalEnergies of complicity in war crimes, torture, and enforced disappearances allegedly committed by Mozambican government forces. The accusations relate to the period from July to September 2021, when TotalEnergies had evacuated its staff from its $20 billion liquefied natural gas (LNG) project in Mozambique and handed the site over to the government. The complaint claims the company bears responsibility due to its financial arrangement with the government for soldier salaries in the project’s security operations. TotalEnergies has previously denied knowledge of the alleged abuses, saying its workers were not present at the time. The complaint, lodged with the French anti-terrorism prosecutor, comes amid a separate ongoing French investigation into TotalEnergies for allegedly failing to assist civilians during a 2021 jihadist attack. Meanwhile, the Mozambican government has also opened an investigation into the claims. Despite the controversy, TotalEnergies is preparing to resume the LNG project under strict security controls, targeting a 2029 operational date.
- https://www.euronews.com/business/2025/11/18/frances-totalenergies-accused-of-complicity-in-civilian-massacre-in-mozambique – A German human rights NGO has filed a complaint in France against energy giant Total Energies for ‘complicity in war crimes, torture and enforced disappearance’ through its financial and material support to the Joint Task Force in Mozambique, the group said in a statement. The claim centres on the so-called ‘container massacre’ during which soldiers allegedly paid by Total detained and tortured dozens of civilians on its gas site between July and September 2021, with only 26 of around 150 reported to have survived. The task force was created in 2020 through a memorandum between Total’s Mozambican subsidiary and the government as a security unit that would protect the French giant’s LNG project operations in the country. Under this agreement, the company also provided accommodation, food, equipment and soldier bonuses to the unit, ‘support that continued despite the company’s knowledge of systematic human rights violations,’ ECCHR said. The organisation bases its complaint in part on internal Total documents obtained through freedom of information requests to the project’s public financiers, some of which have already been reported on by French outlets. The documents show that the company was aware of accusations of violence against civilians being committed by Mozambican armed forces, yet continued its support to the task force.
- https://www.ecchr.eu/en/press-release/totalenergies-faces-criminal-complaint-for-complicity-in-war-crimes-torture-and-enforced-disappearance-in-mozambique/ – On 17 November 2025, the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) filed a criminal complaint in France against TotalEnergies for complicity in war crimes, torture and enforced disappearance. The oil and gas major is accused of having directly financed and materially supported the Joint Task Force, composed of Mozambican armed forces, which between July and September 2021, allegedly detained, tortured and killed dozens of civilians on TotalEnergies’ gas site. The complaint has been filed with the French National Anti Terrorism Prosecutor (PNAT), which also has a mandate to investigate international crimes. This filing comes as TotalEnergies just announced the lifting of the force majeure declared in April 2021 on its liquified natural gas project, Mozambique LNG, despite a persistent conflict, intensifying deadly attacks and a major humanitarian crisis.
- https://www.lemonde.fr/en/les-decodeurs/article/2025/11/18/totalenergies-accused-of-complicity-in-war-crimes-in-mozambique_6747568_8.html – A criminal complaint was filed in France against TotalEnergies by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), accusing the company of complicity in war crimes, torture, and enforced disappearances in Mozambique. The allegations focus on a period between July and September 2021 when soldiers from a Joint Task Force (JTF), supported by TotalEnergies under a security agreement with the Mozambican government, detained, tortured, and killed civilians near the Afungi liquefied natural gas site. Evidence from investigative reports, videos, satellite imagery, and internal documents indicates that TotalEnergies was informed of the risks and ongoing abuses by the JTF before and during the alleged events. Despite this, the company maintained its cooperation with the military until October 2023. The charges relate to the context of an ongoing armed conflict between Mozambican forces and the Al-Shabaab militia. The $20 billion Mozambique LNG project, where TotalEnergies holds a 26.5% stake, has drawn criticism for its handling of local communities and environmental impact. This is the second time the company has faced legal action connected to the project, with prior manslaughter allegations linked to a 2021 terrorist attack that halted operations.
- https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250326954342/en/Mozambique-LNG-TotalEnergies-Welcomes-the-Launch-of-Official-Investigations-in-Mozambique – Following allegations of human rights abuses raised by media outlets in 2024 that would have been committed by members of Mozambique’s Defence and Security Forces in the Afungi Peninsula in the Cabo Delgado province around the summer of 2021, Mozambique LNG (TotalEnergies 26.5%) has asked in November 2024 the Mozambican authorities to open a formal investigation into such allegations, in order to ascertain what happened. On the occasion of his meetings end of January with the new authorities of Mozambique, notably the President Daniel Chapo, Patrick Pouyanné, CEO of TotalEnergies, stressed the importance of such an investigation being conducted in accordance with the rule of law and sovereignty of the Mozambican state. TotalEnergies welcomes the announcement made on 4 March 2025 by the Attorney General of Mozambique who confirmed that a criminal investigation had been opened into these allegations. Mozambique LNG will fully cooperate with the authorities in this respect. In addition, TotalEnergies has also requested the intervention of the Mozambican Commission on Human Rights (CNDH) to conduct its own investigation into these allegations. We are pleased that the CNDH confirmed on 25 March 2025 that it will carry out its own assessment of all relevant information to ensure that the facts are duly ascertained and that the rights of the parties involved are fully respected. In particular, the CNDH has stated that it will follow the investigation launched by the Mozambican judicial authorities to ensure that it is conducted in a transparent, fair and impartial manner. TotalEnergies will publish the CNDH report.
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
8
Notes:
The climate change lawsuit in Belgium was initiated in March 2024, with recent developments reported in November 2025. The war crimes allegations in Mozambique were reported in November 2025. Both narratives are current and have not been previously reported. The climate change lawsuit is based on a press release, which typically warrants a high freshness score. No discrepancies in figures, dates, or quotes were found. No recycled content or republishing across low-quality sites was identified.
Quotes check
Score:
10
Notes:
No direct quotes were identified in the provided narratives. The information is paraphrased from original sources, with no evidence of reused or varying quotes.
Source reliability
Score:
9
Notes:
The narratives originate from reputable organizations: the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and Greenpeace. Both are well-established entities with a history of credible reporting. No unverifiable entities or fabricated information were identified.
Plausability check
Score:
9
Notes:
The claims are plausible and supported by recent reports from multiple reputable outlets. The climate change lawsuit in Belgium and the war crimes allegations in Mozambique are consistent with known events and have been covered by various news organizations. No inconsistencies or suspicious elements were found.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH
Summary:
The narratives are current, original, and supported by reputable sources. No evidence of disinformation or recycled content was found. The claims are plausible and consistent with known events. Both narratives pass the fact-checking criteria with high confidence.