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Finance ClimAct: Five years of action for sustainable finance celebrated in Paris

On December 3, ADEME and the Institut de la Finance Durable (IFD) held the closing event of the Finance ClimAct program, a flagship project that has marked five years of commitment to transforming finance to serve the ecological transition.

The event brought together nearly 100 participants, including representatives from the financial world, companies, regulators, public decision-makers and experts. The afternoon provided an opportunity to take stock of the program’s major achievements, and to share perspectives for accelerating the transition to more responsible and sustainable finance.

Funded to the tune of 18 million euros, including 10 million co-funded by the European Commission, the program has brought together a consortium of nine members and mobilized 30 experts to carry out ambitious initiatives in support of the European Union’s National Low-Carbon Strategy and Sustainable Finance Action Plan.

High points and rich lessons learned

The various presentations offered an overview of the achievements of the Finance ClimAct program through a variety of talks and enlightening debates:

  • Introduction and assessment of the program: Mathieu Garnero, Director of the Finance ClimAct project, opened the session by reviewing the objectives achieved in five years, in particular the development of tools and methodologies for integrating climate issues into financial decision-making.
  • Keynote on the progress made by the world’s leading issuers: Romain Poivet of the World Benchmarking Alliance presented an analysis of the progress made by the world’s leading issuers in the area of sustainable transition, highlighting the advances made and the challenges ahead.
  • Round table: Companies in transition faced with Europeanstandards : Representatives from Saint Gobain, Carrefour, the Autorité des Marchés Financiers (AMF) and ADEME discussed the transformations made by companies to integrate standards such as the European Taxonomy and Fit for 55, with concrete examples of climate strategies.
  • Presentation of the work of the Institut de la Finance Durable (IFD): Cécile Goubet shared the methodologies developed to guide financial practices in assessing transition plans, drawing on case studies and innovative tools.
  • Keynote on climate alignment of financial institutions: Daisy Pacheco from RMI presented the PACTA work, a methodology for assessing the alignment of banking portfolios with the objectives of the Paris Agreement, focusing on European banks.
  • Round table: Transition plans in the financial sector: With the participation of ACPR, ARKEA, the Fédération des Banques Françaises and ADEME, this debate highlighted the progress made by financial institutions in building robust climate strategies, while also raising expectations linked to new regulations (CSRD, CSDD).
  • Analysis of financial institutions’ climate commitments: Raphaël Lebel, from the Observatoire de la Finance Durable, presented the results of an in-depth analysis of climate commitments, highlighting the importance of greater transparency and rigorous criteria for measuring progress.
  • Conclusion: Sylvain Waserman, Chairman of ADEME, and Cécile Goubet, Managing Director of IFD, closed the event by thanking the consortium partners and calling for the momentum created by Finance ClimAct to be maintained to accelerate the ecological transition in the years ahead.

‘For more than 5 years, ADEME has been leading a consortium, bringing together the Ministry in charge of ecological transition, supervisors (ACPR and AMF) and key players in the ecosystem (IFD, 2Dii, I4CE and RMI) to support the French and European strategy on sustainable finance. Through our work on the decarbonization of industrial sectors (cement, steel, aluminum, chemicals, glass, etc.) and the deployment of the ACT method for assessing corporate transition plans, we have been able to better anchor climate issues at the heart of finance.

Redirecting financial flows to meet our climate and biodiversity objectives requires an analysis of the sustainability of companies’ business models and their transition strategies, which we have illustrated through ‘Say on Climate’. In this way, institutions can contribute through their financing, investments and advice to support the development of a sustainable economy, and guard against the financial risks associated with carbon assets.’ Sylvain Waserman, Chairman of ADEME

‘Achieving the energy and ecological transition implies a change in all the practices of all players, companies and financiers alike. Conceived as a multi-stakeholder initiative, the Finance ClimAct project has brought together authorities, supervisors, think-tanks and the financial sector to develop a series of tools that are relevant to all stakeholders, while at the same time enabling French expertise to grow. It is with this same spirit of dialogue and consensus-building to develop tools at the service of all stakeholders that the Institut de la finance durable will continue its work.’ Yves Perrier, Chairman of the Institut de la Finance Durable

Concrete results and ambitious prospects

Since its launch in 2019, the Finance ClimAct program has enabled:

  • The creation of 9 sectoral transition plans for the highest-emitting industries, such as steel, cement or glass.
  • The development of pioneering methodologies, such as PACTA and ACT Finance, used to assess the transition plans of companies and financial institutions.
  • The launch of two transparency tools: the Climate Transparency Hub and the Observatoire de la Finance Durable.
  • The implementation of 750 mystery visits to assess the sustainable finance practices of financial networks, and numerous surveys and polls to understand the expectations of savers.
  • 817 billion euros analyzed via the MyFairMoney platform to help investors integrate environmental objectives into their decisions.
  • Strengthened criteria for SRI and Greenfin labels, aligned with European standards such as Taxonomy and CSRD.
  • The publication of Biodiversity guides, studies and reports on the transition plans of financial institutions.

And now,

although the Finance ClimAct program is coming to an end, its tools, methodologies and lessons learned will continue to support companies, financial institutions and decision-makers in their efforts to meet national and European climate targets. To find out more about the results of the program, or to consult the resources available, click here:

 

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