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French energy company Total Energy defended its strategy on Friday after police fired tear gas to disperse protesting climate activists during its annual meetings. The demonstration came at the end of stakeholder meetings at major European companies, as campaigners stepped up pressure on companies to reduce their carbon footprint.
“The climate is at the heart of our concerns,” Total Energy’s CEO, Patrick Pouyanne, told a few hundred attendees in a ballroom in the French capital. He emphasized that his group has done more than others to invest in renewable energy. But as global oil demand continues to rise, “if total energy doesn’t meet this demand, others will do the work for us.”
On Friday, French police used tear gas to disperse protesters who were sleeping on the ground in front of the rally venue, Bleil Hall.
Pouyanne lamented that “exceptional measures must be taken, such as contacting the police and imposing strict measures to enter this crowd.”
But when the stakeholders entered the hall, there were about 200 demonstrators on both sides of the road blocked by police in front of the meeting hall.
Police said they arrested four people. “What we want is total energy collapse,” the demonstrators chanted.
“One, two, three degrees, we should be thankful,” they chanted, referring to global warming. Some poured the black liquid over their heads.
The group tried to prevent chaos last year when some activists barred several shareholders from attending the annual meeting. This year, it installed two-meter-high Plexiglas panels to separate the speakers on stage from the public in the room. It has also banned the use of smart phones by spectators and journalists inside the hall.
Climate activists are angry with oil majors and others for the effects of their activities on the planet.
Last year, big energy companies posted record profits at a time when Russia’s war in Ukraine sent oil and gas prices soaring.
Total Energy aims to achieve 100 GW of renewable electricity by 2030 by allocating a third of its investments in low-carbon energy sources.
French Energy Transition Minister Agnes Pannier-Ronacher urged the group to speed up its actions. “The total is investing in renewable energies, but the challenge is to go faster, stronger and above all faster,” he told France Info radio.
Total Energy’s operations include liquefied natural gas and oil projects in the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, Papua New Guinea and Uganda, where it has come under fire over a pipeline project that campaigners say threatens a fragile environment and livelihoods. He also sparked controversy over his record net profit of $20.5 billion last year, his taxes in France and Pouyanne’s pay.