“Six months ago, who could have predicted that we would come out with a consensual report, which speaks to the ability of the Senate to find compromises? », welcomed Yannick Jadot during the presentation of his report. The commission of inquiry into TotalEnergies’ climate obligations, proposed by the environmentalist senator and his group last December, did not immediately achieve unanimous support in the upper house.
“The senatorial majority had reservations, because it is very rare for the Senate to open a commission of inquiry into a private company,” said Les Républicains senator Roger Karoutchi. The man who chaired these six months of work ultimately said he was very satisfied with the report produced, adopted almost unanimously on June 12 by the senators who were members of the commission.
Of the 33 recommendations in the document, the vast majority of them do not directly target TotalEnergies, which “is rather in a better position than its competitors” in terms of energy transition, the president of the commission of inquiry insisted.
An entry by the State into the capital of TotalEnergies
It is nevertheless among the handful of measures which directly target the oil and gas group that we find one of the most emblematic proposals of this commission of inquiry: the entry of the State into the capital of TotalEnergies . The senators thus recommend the acquisition by the State of a “specific action”, giving it a “right to review the shareholder developments of the group” and “greater information, even greater influence, with regard to the strategic decisions of its board of directors.
Beyond allowing the State to be better informed of TotalEnergies’ investment strategy in terms of renewable energies, this specific action mainly responds to energy sovereignty concerns. During his hearing, Patrick Pouyanné – the group’s general manager – had in fact raised the possibility of transferring the firm’s main stock market listing to New York. “This made the Senate react, attached to France’s energy sovereignty. Even if its shareholders are 40% American, TotalEnergies is a group that remains French. The commission of inquiry recommends that the State take a stake in the capital, to possibly have a right of veto on questions such as moving a head office,” explains environmentalist senator Yannick Jadot.
By purchasing this unique “specific share”, for the modest sum of 70 euros, the State would then be endowed with “very significant powers” despite its extremely low weight in the capital of TotalEnergies, believes Yannick Jadot. It could in particular allow “the appointment of a representative of the State without a deliberative voice to the board of directors, the right to oppose transfers of assets”, specifies the report.
The end of imports of Russian gas into France, then into the European Union
Another strong recommendation from the senatorial report, the end “as soon as possible” of imports of Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) into France, “so as not to finance the Russian war effort” in Ukraine, denounces Yannick Jadot. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, European economic sanctions have not applied to the import of Russian gas into the EU. In 2022 and 2023, TotalEnergies imported 14 million tonnes of LNG on the continent. An activity on which the oil group explained itself before the senatorial commission of inquiry, during the hearing of Patrick Pouyanné.
“We hope that France sets an example,” says the rapporteur of the commission of inquiry. In addition to the ban on imports into France, the Senate recommends that the country raise the subject at the level of the European Union, to broaden the package of Russian economic sanctions to LNG. “This is a request that other countries are also making, we will see if the European Commission follows,” remarks Roger Karoutchi. For similar reasons, the commission of inquiry also recommends the interruption of investments “by all French groups” in Azerbaijan, “pending a peaceful resolution” of the conflict between it and Armenia.
The upper house also notes that LNG, if it is considered by TotalEnergies as a low-carbon energy, “constitutes an interesting but emissive technology”. Debates on the interest of the exploitation of LNG in the energy transition have in fact animated this commission of inquiry, to decide on this question the report proposes that the carbon footprint of this gas be carried out by the Transition Agency ecological (Ademe). The origin of the LNG must also be controlled by the Energy Regulatory Commission (CRE).
Strengthen the fight against conflicts of interest
Finally, the report of the commission of inquiry also highlights the need to regulate mobility between the public sector and large companies, in order to avoid any conflict of interest. A subject which is not new, but which the senators were directly confronted with during their hearings. “We interviewed Hélène Dantoine, who is responsible for economic diplomacy at the Quai d’Orsay, formerly director of public affairs at Total. We also interviewed Jean-Claude Mallet, the current director of public affairs at Total, their lobbying strategy basically, and who was a senior official of extreme importance at the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. says Yannick Jadot.
To avoid any conflict of interest, the senators therefore recommend increasing the duration of control of these public-private mobility by the High Authority for the Transparency of Public Life (HATVP), from 3 years to 5 years. if the employment exercised by a person or their sector of activity justifies it.” In terms of transparency, the report also asks the State to “better distinguish between state delegations and those of companies” during the COPs. At the time of COP28 in Dubai, the massive presence of oil and gas producers was indeed very noticeable. On this occasion, Patrick Pouyanné benefited from accreditation within the government delegation, thus offering him privileged access to the negotiations.
