Hugues Falys, a farmer and union leader from Belgium's western Hainaut province, blames the French oil giant for its role in a series of extreme weather events linked to global warming that caused losses to his farm.

Backed by campaign groups including Greenpeace, Falys is seeking 130,000 euros in damages and wants TotalEnergies to halt all new global exploration for fossil fuels including oil and gas.

Making their case in a commercial court in the city of Tournai, the company's lawyers called it "absurd" to single out an oil firm for allegedly dragging its feet on the energy transition -- stressing the overarching role of governments in steering climate policy.

"What needs to fall are global emissions, and states have a central role in shifting demand toward a decarbonised system," said lawyer Francoise Labrousse.

"It's a bit easy to blame energy producers for pollution and warming," she said.

"TotalEnergies doesn't sell tractors, cars or boilers," Labrousse argued, describing the group's strategy to meet the EU's goal of carbon neutrality by 2050 as "ambitious and effective".

Falys is the first person to bring a climate case against a multinational company in Belgium, arguing that four extreme weather events linked to global warming between 2016 and 2020 harmed his business.

Among the NGOs backing his case, the Human Rights League (LDH) is demanding a "transformation" of TotalEnergies' practices, accusing the firm of dodging costs linked to increasingly frequent extreme weather.

Sebastien Champagne, another lawyer for the energy giant, dismissed the demands as "shock tactics" by pressure groups he said were "instrumentalising the judiciary."

In Belgium, commercial courts -- which handle disputes between companies -- are composed of a professional judge assisted by two lay judges drawn from the business world.

The case began in mid-November but was suspended due to a personal issue involving the judge. It resumed this month with a newly composed bench and is set to continue in January, with a ruling expected by late April.

TotalEnergies, along with other oil giants, is a frequent target for climate and human rights activists.

mad/ec/ub/cw

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