TotalEnergies: Is it really diversifying its energy production?

In May 2021, Total became TotalEnergies, a “multi-energy company“ with the ambition of being a major player in the energy transition. At least, this is what its CEO Patrick Pouyanné is trying to convince people of by positioning TotalEnergies as a responsible and socially acceptable partner, customer and employer, even in the context of the climate emergency. In financial terms, having people believe that TotalEnergies is diversifying makes it possible for the company to respond to financial players who want their support to fulfill their commitment to achieving net zero by 2050 on a 1.5°C trajectory.

But what does that really mean? What are these “new energy sources“ it talks so much about? Do these new sources of energy offer real solutions in terms of climate change, and do they really represent a growing and significant part of TotalEnergies’ energy mix? Reclaim Finance asked these questions to help inform the company’s financial stakeholders – its banks, insurers and investors, including its shareholders – and to provide fact-based recommendations on how to meet their own climate commitments.