Paris’ Salle Pleyel concert hall is well-known for hosting musical stars, but it has also become the stage for an annual confrontation between environmentalists and shareholders of TotalEnergies, a French oil company. Last month, police used tear gas on campaigners attempting a sit-in at the company’s annual investor meeting. While Total’s small-time shareholders managed to attend, they faced a barrage of chants. “I don’t care,” snarled one shareholder in response to a protester’s call to save the planet.
The clash between these two groups highlights their deep divide on climate concerns. However, both sides are aware of the attention these encounters receive on social media, following disruptions at shareholder meetings of other oil giants like Shell and BP in the UK.
“We’re faced with two parties that are not interested in dialogue,” says Jean-Michel Gauthier, a professor at HEC business school and former Total employee.
While Prime Minister Élisabeth Borne shows support for environmental activists, it contrasts with the government’s response to recent mass protests against President Emmanuel Macron’s pension reforms.
Nonetheless, this growing pressure on the fossil fuel industry signals a challenge for companies like Total to justify the pace of their transition to greener energy.
Total’s CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, is known for his straightforwardness. He struggles to understand why his pragmatic vision of a world still reliant on oil, which requires time to shift towards clean energy, is not shared by campaigners.
During the shareholder meeting, Pouyanné criticized the accusations of greenwashing. Meanwhile, outside the meeting, protesters chanted “Pouyanné, chicken” directed at him personally.
Total’s investments in wind and solar farms, as well as other renewable energy projects, are not insignificant. This year, the company has increased its budget for renewable energy investments to $5 billion, out of a total investment spend of $16 billion to $18 billion, compared to $4 billion in 2022. However, these efforts have not garnered as much enthusiasm from investors as their US counterparts, who have remained more committed to oil and gas without significantly shifting public opinion.
“Despite not trading at the same level as its US peers, Total still faces protests on the streets,” says Gauthier.
But the company is fighting back. Total has filed a symbolic lawsuit against Greenpeace in France, seeking damages of €1, claiming the organization’s emissions report was misleading.
Last month, French newsletter La Lettre A obtained an internal guide produced by Total for its employees, providing tongue-in-cheek advice on surviving dinner parties amidst controversies. The company explains the document was meant to assist staff in responding to regular issues, including the $10 billion Lake Albert oil project and the associated pipeline that will pass through Uganda and Tanzania. This pipeline is a controversial topic for those advocating an end to new oil developments and has sparked protests.
“Businesses can’t completely divest from fossil fuels overnight, but launching new projects should be simple,” says Anne-Fleur Goll, a 26-year-old activist who also works in climate advisory at Deloitte.
Goll made her own impact last year when she organized an open letter signed by over 800 students and graduates, stating their refusal to work for Total due to the Ugandan pipeline. She criticizes the company’s response as consistently “defensive and condescending.”
In the future, it is likely that TV cameras will be present outside Total’s shareholder meetings, as well as other oil companies. However, in the meantime, a little more conversation would be beneficial.
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