PROTÉGER LES PROFITS, PAS LE CLIMAT

Ten years after the Paris Agreement, French banks and insurers continue to heavily finance fossil fuel expansion, with some increasing their support for oil and gas extraction. The report argues that 'green finance' and ESG labels are largely greenwashing, as they fail to redirect capital away from climaticide activities. It further criticizes the French and European governments for favoring voluntary industry commitments over binding regulations and for weakening key directives like the CSRD and CSDDD under pressure from financial lobbies.

• Major French banks continue to finance fossil fuel expansion, providing 20 billion dollars to developers in 2024. Between 2021 and 2024, these banks allocated nearly 50% more funding to fossil fuels than to sustainable alternatives, resulting in an average ratio of 0.71:1, far below the 6:1 ratio needed by 2030.
• While some banks have limited strategic support for oil and gas, others have significantly increased it; Société Générale and BPCE increased their financing for oil and gas extraction expansion by 91% and 133% respectively between 2023 and 2024.
• Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) remains a significant gap in climate policies for French banks. Crédit Agricole specifically conducted 152 transactions with LNG developers between 2021 and 2024, totaling 5.6 billion dollars.
• The report characterizes 'green finance' and ESG products as a form of greenwashing. For example, the 'Amundi MSCI Emerging ESG Broad Transition' fund invested in national oil companies such as Petrobras and Saudi Aramco as of August 2025. Additionally, 70% of employee savings funds and 55% of 'green' life insurance funds in France invest in companies developing new fossil projects.
• European and French regulatory ambitions have been undermined by lobbying. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) were weakened, with the French government participating in the removal of over 80% of reporting requirements and covered companies.

APA

Reclaim Finance (2025). PROTÉGER LES PROFITS, PAS LE CLIMAT. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025.10.27_ReclaimFinance_Proteger_Les_Profits_Pas_le_Climat.pdf

Chicago

Reclaim Finance. PROTÉGER LES PROFITS, PAS LE CLIMAT. 2025. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025.10.27_ReclaimFinance_Proteger_Les_Profits_Pas_le_Climat.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Reclaim Finance |title=PROTÉGER LES PROFITS, PAS LE CLIMAT |date=October 2025 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025.10.27_ReclaimFinance_Proteger_Les_Profits_Pas_le_Climat.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{reclaimfinance2025protger, author = {{Reclaim Finance}}, title = {{PROTÉGER LES PROFITS, PAS LE CLIMAT}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2025}, month = oct, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/2025.10.27_ReclaimFinance_Proteger_Les_Profits_Pas_le_Climat.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }