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French banks are firmly committed to combating climate change. They are providing increasingly large amounts to finance transition projects carried out by their customers, whether businesses or individuals. The amount of green and sustainable loans on their balance sheets rose by 50% in one year, from €216bn in 2022 to €337bn in 2023, and quadrupled over three years. Meanwhile, French banks’ exposure to the hydrocarbon sector fell by 16% in 2023. These significant steps are positive, although French banks know that much remains to be done. They will continue their efforts to support the economy and their customers in the necessary decarbonisation of their activities.
In response to the climate emergency, French banks are stepping up financing of the transition across all economic sectors. Their green and sustainable loan portfolio reached €337bn in 2023, quadrupling over three years and increasing by 50% over the last year.Banks are deploying financial solutions to support their customers’ transition across all sectors of the economy, from energy to industry, transportation (clean vehicles and low-carbon infrastructure projects), and real estate (residential and commercial properties and public buildings).
In terms of renewable energy financing, French banks are leading the way globally, with outstanding loans for renewable energies standing at more than €73bn in 2023, up 74% compared with 2021. French banks remain among the top 10 global players in the financing market for renewable energy projects, extending the lead over their counterparts across the Atlantic.
They also support their customers through the arrangement of green and sustainable bonds. They are among the global leaders in this market, structuring €100bn on behalf of customers over the course of 2023.
Committed since 2021 to contribute to achieving global net-zero carbon neutrality by 2050 through the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), French banks have already published and begun implementing some of the world’s most ambitious decarbonisation trajectories for the oil and gas, thermal coal and power generation sectors. This year they will communicate on all emitting sectors covered by NZBA.
Pioneers in phasing out fossil fuels, the weight of this sector in French banks’ balance sheets is now very low, at 0.02% for thermal coal, although coal still accounts for over a quarter of the world’s energy consumption and over a third of global electricity production (source: IEA 2022). Hydrocarbons now account for just 0.73% of balance sheets, down 16% in one year, from €78bn in 2022 to €66bn[1] in 2023.
No French banks are in the world’s top 10 for fossil fuel financing...
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