September 21, 2026, Paris – Caisse des Dépôts, the third largest asset owner in Europe (1), has announced that it will stop buying new bonds issued by oil-producing companies, like TotalEnergies. Until now, the public institution had been able to invest French people’s savings in companies developing new oil and gas projects. Reclaim Finance welcomes this announcement as a significant step forward but points out that the policy remains incomplete since fossil gas is notably absent. The NGO calls on Caisse des Dépôts to go further by acknowledging the major climate challenges associated with the expansion of fossil gas, and by extending its commitments across the rest of the value chain, including liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals and new gas-fired power plants. All European investors should follow the example of the Caisse des Dépôts and stop investing in companies that continue to develop fossil fuels.
Caisse des Dépôts, a French public institution that manages 320 billion euros in assets – most of which comes from French savings accounts like Livret A, Livret de Développement Durable et Solidaire, and Livret d’Épargne Populaire – has updated its climate policy (2) and announced:
- The end of new debt financing (purchasing of new bonds) for oil producers (upstream companies);
- An absolute exposure cap for companies developing new oil production or exploration projects (also upstream companies).
While the institution held 9.8 billion euros in assets in companies operating in the fossil fuel sector at the end of 2025, the announced measures mark a real step forward. The new commitments apply to TotalEnergies, of which Caisse des Dépôts is the tenth-largest shareholder (3). This means that Caisse des Dépôts will no longer be able to buy new bonds issued by TotalEnergies, even though bonds are one of the company’s main sources of financing.
However, there are still some important gaps. The new measures do not cover companies further down the fossil fuel value chain, particularly those developing new LNG terminals and gas-fired power plants. More broadly, the commitments do not address the issue of fossil gas, even though, in practice, most oil producers are also gas producers and will therefore be affected by these new measures.
Caisse des Dépôts is taking a major step forward by ending new debt investments in some fossil fuel companies. This decision comes as civil society is increasingly calling out the use of Livret A savings accounts to finance companies like TotalEnergies. But this measure only partly addresses their concerns, as it fails to include any specific action regarding fossil gas. For example, there is nothing preventing Caisse des Dépôts from continuing to finance companies developing new gas transportation infrastructure, particularly liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals, such as ENGIE. At a time when many other investors, including French pension body Ircantec and life insurers like Maif and Suravenir, have already stopped all new investments in companies involved in LNG expansion, Caisse des Dépôts must go further and stop financing fossil fuel expansion across the entire value chain.
Agathe Masson, Reclaim Finance sustainable investments campaigner
These announcements come as Reclaim Finance published a report last year (4) highlighting the flaws in Caisse des Dépôts’ investment policy, which at the time still allowed the institution to finance companies involved in the development of new oil and gas t projects. The NGO also raised concerns about the public institution’s lack of transparency regarding its investments, its votes in favor of management-proposed resolutions at the annual general meetings of these same companies, and its choice of external asset managers. While Caisse des Dépôts has now finally responded to concerns about its continued investments in oil expansion with these new commitments, it has not made any progress on these other issues.
Against the backdrop of a summer marked by exceptional heat waves, Reclaim Finance calls on the Caisse des Dépôts to build on the positive momentum of its announcements and end its financing of companies driving fossil fuel expansion across the rest of the value chain.
These announcements should also serve as a wake-up call to European investors who are still financing the development of fossil fuels: it is time to stop investing in companies that are exacerbating climate change.
