Uncovered: The Oversight in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reporting Regarding Methane
TotalEnergies and the Controversy Surrounding Natural Gas
TotalEnergies, a major oil and gas producer, has been emphasizing the importance of building low carbon energy systems while simultaneously relying on methane-emitting natural gas as the core of its vision. In its Sustainability and Climate 2025 Progress Report, the company presents a positive outlook for natural gas, including liquefied natural gas (LNG), as a "low carbon" solution. However, critics argue that this characterization is misleading and overlooks the significant climate impact of methane emissions and the omission of Scope 3 emissions in TotalEnergies' claims.
Methane, the primary component of natural gas, has a global warming potential (GWP) significantly higher than carbon dioxide (CO2) over a 20-year horizon, making even small leaks disproportionately contribute to warming. This high GWP is often downplayed or misrepresented, leading to an underestimation of natural gas's climate damage. Additionally, companies like TotalEnergies sometimes omit Scope 3 emissions, which account for the majority of emissions associated with natural gas over its life cycle, when promoting it as a low-carbon fuel. This selective accounting creates a misleading impression of natural gas's true climate impact.
The high GWP of methane and the selective accounting of emissions are two central arguments against portraying natural gas as a transitional fuel. This underscores the need for full life-cycle emissions transparency and stricter methane leak controls to accurately assess natural gas's role in the energy transition.
In June 2025, a court case opened in Paris accusing TotalEnergies of greenwashing and misleading about its net zero intentions, which may further fuel the debate surrounding the company's claims about natural gas. The report discussing the selective accounting of emissions can be found on TotalEnergies.com, specifically on page 10 of the PDF titled "totalenergies_sustainability-climate-2025-progress-report-presentation_2025_en.pdf".
Total's Chairman & CEO, Patrick Pouyanné, has stated the company's goal to continue producing energy while reducing industrial emissions, particularly methane by 2030. The company is also building a "very low carbon LNG plant" in Oman, but the term only applies to the plant's Scope 2 emissions, not the product (LNG) itself.
It is unclear if TotalEnergies addresses the issue of selective accounting of emissions in subsequent reports or communications, and the report does not specify the context or instances where selective accounting occurs. Furthermore, the report does not elaborate on the implications or consequences of selective accounting for TotalEnergies or the industry as a whole.
Methane, a significant greenhouse gas, cannot be offset through natural capital like CO2, adding another layer of complexity to the climate impact of natural gas. As the world moves towards a more sustainable energy future, the need for transparency and accurate emissions accounting becomes increasingly important to ensure that natural gas plays a constructive role in the transition.
- The high GWP of methane and the selective accounting of emissions are key issues undermining claims that natural gas can be a transitional fuel, as highlighted in the TotalEnergies Sustainability and Climate 2025 Progress Report.
- The Court case in Paris in June 2025, accusing TotalEnergies of greenwashing and misleading about its net zero intentions, further fuels the debate surrounding the company's claims about natural gas.
- In the report, it remains unclear if TotalEnergies addresses the issue of selective accounting of emissions in subsequent reports or communications, and there is no elaboration on the implications or consequences of such selective accounting for TotalEnergies or the industry as a whole.
- In the process of moving towards a more sustainable energy future, ensuring transparency and accurate emissions accounting for natural gas is important to ensure its constructive role in the transition, as natural gas's greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane, cannot be offset through natural capital like CO2.
