{"id":24788,"date":"2022-12-06T10:24:07","date_gmt":"2022-12-06T09:24:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/?p=24788"},"modified":"2023-02-08T11:19:45","modified_gmt":"2023-02-08T10:19:45","slug":"climate-credit-agricole-plan-is-a-step-forward-but-more-action-needed-on-gas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/reclaimfinance.org\/site\/en\/2022\/12\/06\/climate-credit-agricole-plan-is-a-step-forward-but-more-action-needed-on-gas\/","title":{"rendered":"Climate: Cr\u00e9dit Agricole plan is a step forward but more action needed on gas"},"content":{"rendered":"

Press release
\n<\/b><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Paris, December 6, 2022 – French bank, the Cr\u00e9dit Agricole Group has announced new commitments<\/a><\/span> to decarbonize as part of its climate strategy, including measures to support renewable energies and to withdraw from fossil fuels. But the new policy only commits to stop financing new oil and non-gas production projects, which does not match the International Energy Agency (IEA) net zero scenario referenced by the bank. Reclaim Finance calls on Cr\u00e9dit Agricole to stop financing new gas extraction projects and to raise the level of requirements for its clients in terms of divestment from fossil fuels.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

Cr\u00e9dit Agricole today confirmed its commitment to reducing the carbon footprint of its portfolio by announcing decarbonisation in the cement, commercial real estate and power generation sectors, having set decarbonisation targets<\/a><\/span> for the automotive and oil and gas sectors last June (1). This follows on from the commitments made in the framework of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) to limit global warming to 1.5\u00b0C.<\/p>\n

Following the announcement, Cr\u00e9dit Agricole becomes the first major French bank to stop all direct support for new oil fields, if no binding measures are taken against oil and gas companies (2). The bank has announced that it will be more selective and restrictive in its support for gas-fired power plants (3).<\/p>\n

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Lucie Pinson, Director of Reclaim Finance, said<\/i><\/b>: \u00ab\u00a0It is important that a major player in the Paris financial market like Cr\u00e9dit Agricole is making progress on ending the expansion of fossil fuels and decarbonizing the economy, but it still has a lot of work to do, especially on gas, to fully align itself with science.\u201d<\/i><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Unlike other French (Cr\u00e9dit Mutuel, La Banque Postale) or foreign (ING, BBVA, Commerzbank) players, Cr\u00e9dit Agricole has still not committed to stop financing the expansion of gas production (4). This is a key recommendation of the United Nations to meet the 1.5\u00b0C objective and a conclusion of the IEA’s Net Zero scenario (5), to which Cr\u00e9dit Agricole refers, including in its evaluation of companies (6).<\/p>\n

In addition, Cr\u00e9dit Agricole is committed to tripling its financing for renewable energy by 2030, which is close to the IEA’s Net Zero scenario.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Contacts<\/span>:<\/span><\/b><\/p>\n