Paris, 10 October – The proposed adoption of Say on Climate votes – an obligation for companies to submit their climate strategy to a consultative vote at their annual general meetings – was dropped yesterday by the cross party committee debating France\u2019s draft Green Industry bill.\u00a0 Reclaim Finance says it is disappointed that the government and parliamentarians have given in to pressure from lobbyists, and calls on them to continue to work to improve the conditions for shareholder dialogue so that investors can implement their own climate commitments.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div> This decision to drop the amendment from the Green Industry bill followed several weeks of negotiations where lobby groups, in particular the French Association of Large Companies<\/span> (AFEP) had been pushing hard for it to be withdrawn [1].<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> This measure to combat greenwashing is a minimal, but useful step to support investors who want to invest more responsibly. It costs nothing and it is very consensual. Its removal from the text clearly illustrates the government’s lack of political will to move forward on sustainable finance<\/i>.<\/p>\n<\/div> Antoine Laurent, advocacy lead for Reclaim Finance<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div> During the first reading of the \u00ab\u00a0Green Industry\u00a0\u00bb bill, France\u2019s National Assembly had adopted, against the government’s advice, an amendment to extend the \u00ab\u00a0Say on Climate\u00a0\u00bb principle, tabled by MPs from several political groups ranging from the NUPES to the Republicans. This consensual measure, supported by many French [2] and foreign [3] investors, would have required listed companies to submit their climate strategy to shareholders for a consultative vote through a resolution at their annual general meeting [4].<\/p>\n Although the adopted amendment lacked the ambition and precision to provide a proper framework for Say on Climate votes [5], Reclaim Finance had urged deputies to support it because it represented a useful step forward in favour of sustainable finance. It would allow investors who are committed to climate action to supplement their measures to exclude certain companies, by engaging and giving their opinion on the quality of the climate strategies put forward [6].<\/p>\n Reclaim Finance calls on the assembly members who supported this amendment to continue their efforts to ensure that \u00ab\u00a0Say on climate\u00a0\u00bb becomes mandatory and that its content is regulated to prevent \u00ab\u00a0greenwashing\u00a0\u00bb. [7]<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>