Landmark Greenwashing Case Against Gas Producer Santos Dismissed

(Bloomberg) — A judge dismissed a long-running legal challenge against Santos Ltd., which accused the Australian oil and gas producer of misleading investors about its climate strategy.

The lawsuit, filed by the Australasian Center for Corporate Responsibility, a shareholder advocacy group, was dismissed by Judge Brigitte Markovic on Tuesday. At the Australian Federal Court hearing in Sydney, Markovic said he would publish details of his decision on February 23.

Adelaide-based Santos was first sued in 2021 by the group, which argued the company was misleading in representing itself as a clean energy producer in investor materials and had a “clear and credible” plan to reach net zero by 2040.

ACCR also objected to the company’s characterization of natural gas as a clean fuel; This is a major topic of debate among climate activists. The case was the first of its kind to legally challenge the validity of a company’s plan to reach net zero, according to the organization.

Santos and ACCR did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the case.

So-called greenwashing lawsuits continued to expand in 2025, according to a report released in December by Columbia Law School’s Sabin Climate Change Law Center; Courts have increasingly supported actions to ensure that companies provide specific and verifiable plans for their claims related to combating global warming.

Energy producer TotalEnergies SE was reprimanded by a Paris court in October after a judge ruled that its corporate rebranding misled consumers about its commitments to climate action. In May, CLP Holdings Ltd.’s EnergyAustralia settled with an advocacy group that launched a lawsuit over the marketing of carbon offsets.

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