REG-TotalEnergies SE Duty of Vigilance: TotalEnergies Regrets NGOs' Refusal of the Mediation Process Proposed by the Paris Civil Court

TotalEnergies SEAnnouncement

13/10/2022 10:45

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Duty of Vigilance: TotalEnergies Regrets NGOs' Refusal of the Mediation
Process Proposed by the Paris Civil Court

 

In connection with the hearings scheduled before the Paris Civil court today,
TotalEnergies (Paris:TTE) (LSE:TTE) (NYSE:TTE) regrets that the NGOs involved
in the proceedings have refused to participate in the mediation process
proposed by the court and accepted by TotalEnergies.

Following this refusal, the court decided that the pleadings would take place
on December, 7, 2022.

In October 2019, some NGOs brought proceedings against TotalEnergies SE in the
Nanterre Civil court based on France's "duty of vigilance" law, claiming that
the Company had insufficiently identified and managed the social and
environmental impacts of the Tilenga and EACOP projects in Uganda and
Tanzania.

France's "duty of vigilance" law, which came into effect in 2017, requires
companies of a certain size to publish in their management report a vigilance
plan on the reasonable measures taken to identify risks and prevent potential
serious violations of human rights and fundamental freedoms, human and
environmental health and safety, not only in relation to the company's own
activities but also those of its subcontractors and suppliers with whom it has
an established commercial relationship.

The mediation process proposed by the court and accepted by TotalEnergies
could have provided an opportunity to initiate a constructive dialogue with
the NGOs that brought the proceedings, similar to the dialogue that the
Company's affiliates in Uganda and Tanzania have maintained with the majority
of local associations since the projects began.

TotalEnergies regrets this refusal by the NGOs party to the proceedings and
now intends to argue before the court that its vigilance plan has been
implemented effectively and that it has properly checked that its Ugandan and
Tanzanian affiliates have applied the appropriate action plans to respect the
rights of local communities and ensure respect for biodiversity, within the
framework of National Interest Projects decided by the governments of Uganda
and Tanzania.

In this respect, the TotalEnergies affiliates involved in the projects
commissioned third-party experts to monitor the situations of the people
affected by the project. Their feedback is the following:

Payment of compensation:


 * The Tilenga project in Uganda concerns 4,929 households:


* 92% of compensation agreements have been signed,

 * 88% of compensation has been paid.




 * The EACOP project in Uganda concerns 3,648 households:


* 74% of compensation agreements have been signed.

 * Almost 60% of people have received their compensation.




 * The EACOP project in Tanzania, where the process began later, concerns 9,510
households:


* 67% have signed the compensation agreement,

 * 15% have received their compensation to date.



In cases where payment has not been received, the members of the households
concerned naturally continue to access and enjoy full disposal of their homes
and the land, which belongs to them or which they farm.

Households whose main residence is affected:


 * For the two projects, 723 households, numbering some 5,000 people, will be
relocated.


 * All the households concerned continue to live on their land and to farm it
until they have received the full amount of their compensation, at which time
they will be relocated.

Societal measures implemented:


 * In addition to the compensation agreed, additional measures will be
implemented to promote employment, education and women’s rights.


 * Along with the other aspects of the project, TotalEnergies adheres strictly to
local regulations and international standards (IFC).

Households in the field:


 * The people concerned by the projects will be monitored for at least three
years. An annual survey of the people concerned by Tilenga project who have
received cash compensation, carried out by a third party, showed that:


* 70% of respondents said that their life had improved since receiving their
compensation,

 * and 28% said that their life was unchanged.



The preservation of biodiversity:


 * Within the framework of these two projects, and in line with its biodiversity
commitments, TotalEnergies SE has undertaken to implement action plans
designed to achieve a net positive impact on biodiversity.

 * For the Tilenga project, for example:


* The footprint of the facilities in the Murchison Falls National Park has
been
minimized to less than 0,03% of its surface.

 * 1,000 hectares of forest will be restored to allow chimpanzees to move freely,

 * 10,000 hectares of forest will be preserved,

 * a program is being designed that will increase the population of lions and
elephants in Murchison Falls National Park by 25%,

 * a project is being designed to reintroduce iconic species such as the black
rhinoceros.



For more information about the EACOP and Tilenga projects and their
implementation in compliance with the rights of local people and respect for
biodiversity challenges, all third-party reports and assessments have been
posted online by our affiliates for public consultation, in full transparency:
https://totalenergies.com/projects/liquids-low-carbon-fuels/tilenga-and-eacop-acting-transparently
(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftotalenergies.com%2Fprojects%2Fliquids-low-carbon-fuels%2Ftilenga-and-eacop-acting-transparently&esheet=52943978&newsitemid=20221013005546&lan=en-US&anchor=https%3A%2F%2Ftotalenergies.com%2Fprojects%2Fliquids-low-carbon-fuels%2Ftilenga-and-eacop-acting-transparently&index=1&md5=a6069b35cd3612b762bc559fe9557e8f)

https://totalenergies.com/info/tilenga-eacop-two-projects-rigorously-researched-and-assessed
(https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftotalenergies.com%2Finfo%2Ftilenga-eacop-two-projects-rigorously-researched-and-assessed&esheet=52943978&newsitemid=20221013005546&lan=en-US&anchor=https%3A%2F%2Ftotalenergies.com%2Finfo%2Ftilenga-eacop-two-projects-rigorously-researched-and-assessed&index=2&md5=ab03a2e0c0793e8d243f00e90894522a)

***

About TotalEnergies

TotalEnergies is a global multi-energy company that produces and markets
energies: oil and biofuels, natural gas and green gases, renewables and
electricity. Our more than 100,000 employees are committed to energy that is
ever more affordable, cleaner, more reliable and accessible to as many people
as possible. Active in more than 130 countries, TotalEnergies puts sustainable
development in all its dimensions at the heart of its projects and operations
to contribute to the well-being of people.

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Cautionary Note

This press release, from which no legal consequences may be drawn, is for
information purposes only. The entities in which TotalEnergies SE directly or
indirectly owns investments are separate legal entities. TotalEnergies SE has
no liability for their acts or omissions. The terms “Company” or
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to subsidiaries in general or to those who work for them. This document may
contain forward-looking information and statements that are based on a number
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subject to a number of risk factors. Neither TotalEnergies SE nor any of its
subsidiaries assumes any obligation to update publicly any forward-looking
information or statement, objectives or trends contained in this document
whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

TotalEnergies Contacts 

Media Relations: +33 (0)1 47 44 46 99 l presse@totalenergies.com
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