Climate change activists gathered in Paris near the headquarters of the oil company TotalEnergies, in the La Défense district, where the annual General Assembly of shareholders is taking place, which will take decisions on climate issues.
At 10:25 a.m. in Lisbon, five hours before the start of the General Assembly, Greenpeace activists erected a banner on a building a few hundred meters from the oil group’s headquarters with the image of Patrick Pouyanné, chief executive of TotalEnergies, and the phrase “Wanted by Civil Society.”
Police are on duty in the business and financial district of La Défense, where the world’s fourth-largest oil company and France’s largest by profit, which celebrates its centenary this year, will hold its annual General Assembly.
Police installed metal barriers near the entrance to the building.
TotalEnergies, which operates in Mozambique, said it chose its building, a 48-storey tower, rather than another site in Paris to avoid “paralysis of the Parisian area” – as happened during the tumultuous 2023 General Assembly, which was marked by protesters clashing with by the police.
A year later, the pressure has not eased. On the streets and in the courts, the group continues to face criticism, with climate change advocates accusing it of worsening global warming and harming biodiversity and human rights through its oil and gas activities.
“We condemn TotalEnergies’ expansion strategy, which remains focused on fossil fuel development despite its environmental rhetoric,” Edina Iftisene, the anti-fossil energy lead at Greenpeace, told AFP.
This argument was supported by more than 300 scientists, including experts appointed by the United Nations (UN), who signed an opinion piece in Le Monde describing TotalEnergies’ strategy as “climate-destructive”.
Several organizations have called for an acceleration of protest against the oil company, namely Extinction Rebellion, which is demanding that landmark projects in Uganda/Tanzania, Mozambique and Papua New Guinea be “dumped” and, as recommended by the International Energy Agency, that “All investments in new fossil fuel projects must stop.”
According to a police source, between 300 and 600 protesters are expected.
Facing the “risk” of civil unrest, the mayor of Paris banned illegal demonstrations near the Tour Coupole, the headquarters of TotalEnergies.
A vote on TotalEnergies’ climate strategy is on the General Assembly agenda, with some investors calling for a more ambitious energy transition.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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