TotalEnergies defended its strategy of labelling natural gas as a transition fuel in promotional material as part of its rebranding, in a landmark trial over the claim that the French oil and gas group had overstated its climate commitments and misled consumers.

The case is the first in France to bring “greenwashing” allegations against an oil and gas company and drew a large crowd of courtroom observers, including legal experts, during opening arguments on Thursday. It also highlights fossil fuel industry moves to promote gas as a more environmentally friendly alternative to oil and coal.

Environmental campaign groups Greenpeace, Notre affaire à tous and Friends of the Earth brought the case alleging that TotalEnergies misled consumers in communications campaigns when it changed its name from Total in 2021.