FROZEN GAS, BOILING PLANET

The report finds that French financial institutions are among the top global supporters of LNG expansion, with four banks providing nearly all of the US$14 billion in financing between 2021 and 2023. It highlights a significant gap between these institutions' net-zero pledges and their continued funding of LNG export and import terminals, including support for TotalEnergies. The document argues that current sector policies are insufficient due to loopholes regarding corporate financing and import terminals, and calls for a comprehensive end to financial services for new LNG projects.

• French financial institutions are major global contributors to LNG expansion; seven French banks provided US$14 billion in financing between 2021 and 2023, and 11 French investors held US$7 billion in assets of top LNG developers as of May 2024. This positions French banks as the "fifth largest supporters of LNG expansion globally".
• A small number of institutions dominate French LNG financing. Between 2021 and 2023, Crédit Agricole (US$4.6 billion), BPCE/Natixis (US$3.7 billion), Société Générale (US$3.0 billion), and BNP Paribas (US$2.6 billion) were responsible for "close to 100% of all the financing to LNG expansion provided by French banks".
• French financial institutions heavily support TotalEnergies, which has the most planned LNG export projects (10 terminals) by 2030. Crédit Agricole/Amundi is the company's second largest global investor with US$2.8 billion as of May 2024, and Société Générale provided US$253 million for LNG expansion between 2021 and 2023.
• There is a contradiction between the net-zero commitments of French banks and their actual activities. Despite being members of the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), the four main French banks completed at least 74 transactions with LNG developers in 2023. Support continued into 2024, including BPCE/Natixis participating in a US$1.5 billion bond for Venture Global LNG in July 2024.
• Existing bank policies are deemed ineffective because they do not address the construction of LNG import terminals or corporate financing. Corporate financing is particularly critical as it represents "the largest share of overall fossil fuel finance", accounting for 96% of flows between 2016 and 2022.
• The expansion of LNG infrastructure risks creating stranded assets, particularly in Europe where gas consumption has declined by an average of 3.6% per year between 2018 and 2023. IEEFA estimates that "three-quarters of the continent’s LNG import capacity could be unused by 2030".

APA

Duclos-Gonda, J., Williams, C., Delaporte, L.-M., & Werlé, N.-P. (2024). FROZEN GAS, BOILING PLANET. Reclaim Finance. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Frozen-gas-boiling-plante-country-brief-France.pdf

Chicago

Duclos-Gonda, Justine, Clara Williams, Louis-Maxence Delaporte, and Noam-Pierre Werlé. FROZEN GAS, BOILING PLANET. Reclaim Finance, 2024. https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Frozen-gas-boiling-plante-country-brief-France.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Duclos-Gonda |first1=Justine |last2=Williams |first2=Clara |last3=Delaporte |first3=Louis-Maxence |last4=Werlé |first4=Noam-Pierre |title=FROZEN GAS, BOILING PLANET |publisher=Reclaim Finance |date=December 2024 |url=https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Frozen-gas-boiling-plante-country-brief-France.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{duclosgonda2024frozen, author = {Duclos-Gonda, Justine and Williams, Clara and Delaporte, Louis-Maxence and Werlé, Noam-Pierre}, title = {{FROZEN GAS, BOILING PLANET}}, institution = {Reclaim Finance}, year = {2024}, month = dec, url = {https://reclaimfinance.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Frozen-gas-boiling-plante-country-brief-France.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }