On 29 October in Paris on the occasion of the Climate Finance Day, the Caisse des Dépôts Group announced the bolstering of its policies on financing fossil fuels by adopting measures for oil and gas and strengthening its thermal coal policy. The objective is to help limit global warming to 1.5°C by the end of the century.
The ecological transition is one of the four priority areas for action in Caisse des Dépôts Group's recovery plan. In the current context of climate emergency and health crisis, it is mobilising all its levers:
- Thermal coal: reinforced exclusion and engagement policy. Starting from 2021, the Group (CDC, Bpifrance, SFIL) is excluding from its financing and investments the companies whose business activities rely on thermal coal.*
- Gas and petroleum: heightened selectivity. The Caisse des Dépôts Group is implementing a policy to exclude non-conventional hydrocarbons (CDC, Bpifrance, SFIL), which are the most harmful to the climate and the environment*.
- Gas and petroleum: publication of shareholder expectations. The Caisse des Dépôts Group expects that the oil and gas companies it holds in its portfolio release clear, credible plans to transition to carbon neutrality, which contain objectives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions over a wide scope of activities, including their indirect emissions from products sold.*
- Across all sectors: decarbonizing portfolios. The Group is continuing its efforts to define a new pathway to decarbonize its financial portfolios, in line with the carbon neutrality scenarios, relying on stringent methods.*
- Green financing: promoting a green recovery. In September, in addition to reinforcing its commitments on fossil fuel energy, the Group announced a Climate Plan that calls for massive financing to contribute to a green recovery in France. Thus, €40 bn are allocated over the 2020-2024 period for the benefit of local projects via Banque des Territoires and for businesses via Bpifrance.*
The main institutional investors, driven by their clients and their employees, are in the process of moving. Caisse des Dépôts must be exemplary: we must do more and faster than the others. This move is underway and it is critical.
Eric Lombard, Chief Executive Officer of Caisse des Dépôts to Novethic