Novemùber 19th 2025
[Press Release] Farmer Hugues Falys takes on TotalEnergies: climate trial opens in Tournai today
16th of April 2024
The Farmer Case: first hearing before the Commercial Court of Tournai
13th of March 2024
TotalEnergies sued over its responsibility for climate change in Belgium’s first-ever climate action against a multinational company
Hugues sues TotalEnergies for the impacts of climate change on his farm
This is a groundbreaking case: never before has a company been brought before Belgian courts for its responsibility in climate change.
8 out of 10
8 out of 10 farmers in the Wallonia region are experiencing problems arising from the climate crisis.
35%
TotalEnergies is one of around 20 companies involved in fossil fuels, which are responsible for more than a third of global greenhouse gas emissions.
2000
An increasing number of people around the world are turning to courts to fight climate change. Since the 1990s, more than 2,000 court cases have been filed in 65 countries. Two-thirds of these cases have been filed since 2015!
You too can support Hugues!
Hugues Falys is a farmer in the Belgian province of Hainaut. He has been growing cereals, protein crops, vegetables and strawberries there since 1993, and raises around a hundred Charolais cows for organic meat production.
Like most farmers, Hugues is suffering from the impacts of climate change: heatwaves, droughts, but also extreme rainfall.
The consequences? Unproductive or even ruined crops and meadows, significant financial losses, animals suffering from heat stress, as well as extra workload and major stress linked to growing climate unpredictability.
Why a case against TotalEnergies?
After many years of suffering the effects of climate change on his farm, Hugues has decided to take legal action against one of the multinationals causing them: TotalEnergies. It is a first in Belgium!
Coal, oil and gas companies are by far the biggest contributors to climate change, with fossil fuels accounting for over 75% of greenhouse gas emissions.
The problem?
All too often, these companies evade responsibility and all constraints in terms of climate regulation. As for governments, they are struggling to adopt sufficiently strong legislation to effectively protect the environment, climate and public health considering the enormous economic and political power of those private actors.
Who is paying the price? Hugues, farmers, all of us – in Belgium and elsewhere.
To get things moving, three civil society organisations active in the defence of human rights and climate justice are joining forces and taking part in this legal action alongside Hugues.
The action is also supported by the Climate Coalition and the FIDH, the International Federation for Human Rights. FIDH coordinates the #SeeYouInCourt project, which aims to hold multinationals accountable for their environmental and human rights impacts by means of litigation.
We are asking for justice and redress from the court and demanding that companies be held accountable for the damage they cause.
We are defending everyone’s interests: climate change is having an increasingly serious impact on citizens and their human rights, such as the right to food and the right to live in a healthy environment.
3 objectives
This legal action has three objectives.
1.
See the farmer’s losses recognised
Extreme weather events such as heatwaves, droughts and extreme rainfall have had a severe impact on Hugues’ farm yields.
2.
Forcing TotalEnergies to move away from fossil fuels
We are calling for the adoption of a credible transition plan, an immediate halt to investment in new projects, lower greenhouse emissions, and reduced oil and gas production.
3.
Ending impunity for the fossil fuel industry
We want companies to be held accountable when their activities violate human rights and harm the environment.
This action concern us all
Climate change is already a real threat to the Belgian population’s right to life. A number of extreme weather events in Belgium in recent years serve as stark reminders that this is not a distant concern but an immediate one. It significantly impacts the fundamental rights of various segments of the population, ranging from farmers and the elderly to residents vulnerable to flooding. The images of the floods that hit Belgium in July 2021 are still fresh in everyone’s mind.
This action also highlights the impact of climate change on our food sovereignty, i.e. our ability to produce quality food locally. Hugues’ case is far from isolated, and shows the challenges facing farmers in the face of an increase in the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.