French Banks – Leaders in Sustainable Finance – Memo #FrenchFinance

Faced with the climate emergency, French banks are taking widespread action to meet the challenges of the environmental transition. They are increasingly financing all their clients’ transition projects by rolling out appropriate banking solutions. They were also among the world leaders in renewable energy financing and green bond arrangement in 2023.

Environmentally responsible and committed both domestically and globally, banks are taking action to achieve their 2050 net zero targets. Their decarbonisation paths for the most carbon-intensive sectors are among the most ambitious in the world.

They are also developing financing policies that respect natural ecosystems.

French banks are continuing to divest from the most carbon intensive energy sectors. This sector now accounts for a very small portion of banks’ balance sheets, and no French banks are in the world’s top 10 for fossil fuel financing.

The increased transparency requirements at European level are also intended to be a driving force in companies’ and banks’ transition to a net-zero Europe by 2050.

Faced with the urgent and complex challenge of the environmental transition, French banks are demonstrating their ability to reduce their balance sheets’ carbon footprint and, beyond that, to be active partners in the crucial path toward decarbonising the entire economy.