No ruling has yet been issued in the climate lawsuit filed by Hainaut farmer Hugues Falys against French oil giant TotalEnergies. The Commercial Court of Tournai has postponed the ‘Farmer Case’ until September 9.
The court wishes to await the ruling in a Paris court case, which is expected on June 25. TotalEnergies is accused before the Paris Court of First Instance of failing to fulfill its duty of care regarding climate change.
Satisfaction among the plaintiffs
“That doesn’t mean the Tournai court is bound by the decision in Paris,” says one of Falys’s lawyers. “The court simply wants to have additional information at its disposal for its ruling. We didn’t achieve a complete victory today, but the court has already recognized our standing in the case.”
The court in Tournai also ruled that the case is admissible and that the farmer does indeed have an interest in the case. The NGO’s involved are calling this “a major step forward.” With this decision, the court acknowledges “that victims of the climate crisis can sue a company in their own country, even if that company is not based there,” they say.
“There is no ruling yet, but we see that our arguments hold water,” responded Hugues Falys, who believes that TotalEnergies shares responsibility for the climate-related problems that have affected his farm.
‘Judicial caution’
By postponing its ruling, the court in Tournai is applying a principle of “judicial caution.” It wants to avoid issuing a ruling that conflicts with what the French court decides regarding the exact same company and similar legislation.
If the French court finds TotalEnergies liable or compels it to adopt a stricter climate plan, it will be much easier for the Belgian court to rule in favor of the farmer in September.
But if the opposite happens, there is a good chance the Belgian court will follow that line of reasoning and rule in favor of TotalEnergies.
City of Paris and New York join NGOs
In Paris, the judges must determine whether the environmental risks mentioned in a 2017 French law on the ‘duty of care’ of large companies include the effects of climate change.
The plaintiffs – some NGOs and the City of Paris – are demanding that TotalEnergies halts its new hydrocarbon projects and reduces its oil production by 37% by 2030.
In that case, the judge acknowledged that Paris is directly affected by the consequences of climate change, such as extreme heat waves in the city and the risk of flooding from the Seine, and therefore has the right to hold an oil company accountable.
New York City has also joined this collective. It is doing so to compel a major energy player to comply with the Paris Agreement. And just as Paris is, New York is also grappling with enormous costs from climate change.
