French energy giant TotalEnergies said that it “cannot formulate “Net Zero” targets” that align with European reporting standards, due to its inability to adopt a transition plan compatible with a warming trajectory of 1.5°C by 2050, which the company said is not feasible based on current scientific consensus.
In the company’s 2026 Sustainability & Climate Report, discussing the company’s energy transition progress, TotalEnergies CEO Patrick Pouyanné said that the company will maintain its 2050 operational carbon neutrality and 2030 goal to reduce the carbon intensity of energy products sold, but said that the company “must, however, confront our ambition with reality and acknowledge that our societies have embarked on a transition, but at a pace that does not yet allow for the collective achievement of carbon neutrality as pursued under the Paris Agreement.”
Pouyanné added:
“Our own ability to achieve carbon neutrality together with society depends on technical innovation, public policies and consumer choices, meaning that the pathways to our carbon neutrality ambition must be reassessed and adapted over time in line with the evolution of the global energy system.”
TotalEnergies set its initial 2050 climate goals in 2020, at the time stating that it aimed “to get to net-zero emissions by 2050 together with society for its global business across its production and energy products used by its customers.”
In its new sustainability report, however, the company said that, while an energy transition has started, “the global economy is not yet achieving the pace of change required to meet the Paris Agreement objectives,” and added that “the current scientific consensus now emphasizes that the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels is out of reach,” citing leading climatologists and the IEA.
In a presentation discussing the new report and the company’s energy transition progress, Aurelien Hamelle, President Strategy and Sustainability at TotalEnergies, said:
“We cannot adopt a net zero transition plan according to European regulations, because such a plan in the European regulations has to be aligned with 1.5 degrees. And scientists say that 1.5 degrees is out of reach.”
The report said that in light of its inability to adopt a EU-aligned transition plan, the company “has to evolve the wording and to precise the dependencies of its carbon neutrality ambition, together with society.”
TotalEnergies detailed its current stated goals as “TotalEnergies aims to achieve carbon neutrality for its global operated emissions (scope 1+2) by 2050,” and “The Company works proactively with its customers to help execute their own energy transition strategies and puts on the market a mix of energies with a lower carbon intensity year after year,” while adding that “Our ability to do so depends critically on the pace and affordability of technical innovation, on public policies and on consumers’ behavior. This is what is encapsulated in “together with society.”
The company also confirmed its 2030 targets, including goals to reduce Scope 1 and 2 emissions 40% on a 2015 basis, reduce operated methane emissions 80% on a 2020 basis, and achieve a 25% reduction of its life cycle carbon intensity of the energy products sold to its customers compared to 2015.
Outlining the company’s progress to date towards its goals, TotalEnergies said that as of the end of 2025 it had achieved a 28% reduction in Scope 1 and 2 emissions, and an 18.6% reduction in lifecycle intensity of energy products sold, compared with 2015, and a 65% reduction in operated methane emissions on a 2020 basis.
Among the key challenges highlighted by the company affecting the global pace of the energy transition is the “trilemma” faced by states that need to balance energy reliability and affordability, alongside sustainability.
In the report, Pouyanné said:
“One fact remains central: 4.6 billion people still do not have access to the level of energy necessary for satisfactory human development. More than ever, governments, businesses and citizens are faced with a real trilemma for their energy supply: reliability, affordability and sustainability. To accelerate the transition, public policies must embrace a new realism: prioritizing solutions with the lowest carbon abatement costs, strengthening international cooperation and contributing to the decarbonization of emerging countries.”
