The argument was made during a hearing in a landmark case brought by Hugues Falys, a farmer and union leader from Belgium's western Hainaut province.

He 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 ($153,000) in damages and wants TotalEnergies to halt all new global exploration for fossil fuels including oil and gas.

"Climate change infringes on fundamental rights and TotalEnergies says nothing about it, it's the blind spot in its argument," said Marie Doutrepont, defending the groups, during a hearing at a commercial court in the city of Tournai.

The trial ends on Friday and the judgement is expected in late April.

TotalEnergies "is responsible for greenhouse gas emissions resulting from the burning of these products", said another lawyer, Loica Lambert.

"Without its massive emissions, climate change would not be the same," she added, speaking on behalf of all the plaintiffs.

They were responding to TotalEnergies' arguments in December when the company's lawyers called it "absurd" to single out an oil firm for allegedly dragging its feet on the energy transition.

Doutrepont rejected the company's arguments. "TotalEnergies, with its 900 subsidiaries in 120 countries, has a considerable influence on the energy market," she said.

In December, lawyers for the oil giant insisted states had influence on consumer choices regarding energy. They considered it "a bit easy" to blame producers for pollution and global warming.

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TotalEnergies