Development of sustainable finance policy in France

This paper builds on an earlier policy roadmap written in 2018, as part of the Fiduciary Duty in the 21st Century programme. It assesses the evolution of the French sustainable finance policy framework since 2018 and proposes updated recommendations for policymakers and financial market participants. It is based on interviews with investors, policymakers, and other stakeholders active in France. The recommendations are built around five key themes.

• Clarify and extend investors’ fiduciary responsibility
• Encourage assessment of the sustainability outcomes of investment activities
• Facilitate and promote stewardship on sustainability issues
• Increase transparency for savers and beneficiaries
• Reinforce France’s leadership in alignment with the Paris Agreement

The roadmap was written in French and can be downloaded on the website. Commenting on the paper, its authors said the following:

“The increasing number of crises in recent years (energy, health, social, economic), and the climate and environmental emergency highlighted by the latest IPCC report, require French policymakers to maintain and accelerate their level of ambition in European and international discussions in the sustainable finance space”.

Margarita Pirovska, Director of Policy, PRI

“While French and European regulations have helped provide a framework to promote real environmental and social impacts, there is still a lot to be done to mobilise the necessary sustainable investments in the face of environmental crises and leverage companies to transform their business models. This roadmap offers a valuable diagnosis of French progress in this area and presents measures that could usefully be adopted quickly to go further”.

Nathalie Lhayani, President, FIR

“Four years after the first version of this roadmap, sustainable finance is now at the top of the agenda of all stakeholders. Unfortunately, the sustainable development and climate objectives are still far from being achieved and the Paris financial centre must continue to mobilise to bring about the necessary changes at French, European and international level so that finance can play a real role in achieving a fair and sustainable transition of the economy”.

Thierry Déau, President, Finance for Tomorrow