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. Markovic will publish details of her decision 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 contested 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 and the ACCR didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on the case.
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.
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