In a court filing this week Belgian organic farmer Hugues Falys said he is suing oil giant TotalEnergies for the damage caused to his farming operation by extreme weather between 2016 and 2022.

According to his case, Total is one the top 20 largest CO2 emitting companies and, therefore, has to take partial responsibility for the change in climate and increase in the frequency of major weather events.

He said that those events cost him money, as he had to buy in feed for his herd of organic Charolais cattle and eventually forced him to reduce the size of that herd from an average of 160 to around 100.

He said that, in recent years, climate change has caused farmers a great deal of damage and left them uncertain about the future.

Seeking court order

He is joined in the case by environmental campaigning organisations La Ligue des Droits Humains, the Climate Coalition and Greenpeace.

The case is seeking a court order that will force Total to cease all investment in new fossil fuel projects and to reduce its oil and gas output by almost 50% by 2030.

The case is being taken under a Belgian law which states that anyone who causes damage must pay compensation for it.

Energy giant Shell lost a similar case in the Netherlands in 2021 where a judge ruled that the company must reduce its emissions by 45% of 2019’s level by 2030. Shell is appealing that ruling.

The Belgian government lost a case taken by 58,000 citizens who said the authorities were failing in their duty of care to protect the people from the effects of climate change by reducing emissions. The Belgian government is also appealing that ruling.

Full details on the case and Hugues Falys can be found on his website here.