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By Keira Wright
A judge dismissed a long-running legal challenge against Santos Ltd., which had accused the Australian oil and gas producer of misleading investors over its climate strategy.
The case brought by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility, a shareholder advocacy group, was rejected Tuesday by Justice Brigitte Markovic. Details of her decision will be published Feb. 23, she told the Federal Court of Australia hearing in Sydney.
Adelaide-based Santos was first sued in 2021 by the group, which had alleged the company was deceptive in portraying itself as a clean energy producer in investor materials and by suggesting it had a “clear and credible” plan to hit net zero by 2040.
ACCR also challenged the company’s description of natural gas as a clean fuel — a major point of contention among climate activists. The case was the first of its type to legally challenge the validity of a company’s plan to reach net zero, according to the organization.
Santos is committed to “transparent, accurate and compliant reporting,” the company said in a statement, adding that it welcomes the court’s decision. Santos has developed a climate transition action plan that continues to evolve, it said.
“This court case was not about punishing climate ambition, it was about standing up for market integrity and ensuring that investors are given all the information necessary to confidently assess emissions targets and net zero plans,” ACCR’s co-Chief Executive Officer Brynn O’Brien said in a statement. “Today’s result is disappointing.”
Litigation related to so-called green-washing continued to expand in 2025, with courts increasingly supporting action to ensure companies present specific and verifiable plans for their claims about tackling global warming, according to a December report by Columbia Law School’s Sabin Center for Climate Change Law.
Energy producer TotalEnergies SE was rebuked by a Paris court in October after a judge ruled a corporate rebrand had misled consumers over its commitments on climate action. In May, CLP Holdings Ltd.’s EnergyAustralia settled with an advocacy group that had mounted a case related to the marketing of carbon offsets.
(Adds comment from Santos in fifth paragraph.)
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