Publication of the implementing decree related to Article 29 of the 2019 energy-climate Law

The implementing decree related to Article 29 of the 2019 energy-climate Law was published on 27 May 2021. France had been a pioneer with the 2015 Ecological Transition Law’s “article 173-VI”. These provisions have been completed by Article 29 of the Energy-Climate Law in November 2019. The implementing decree of this law that has just been published. This new decree is the result of close cooperation between the ministry of ecological Transition and the ministry of Economy, finance and recovery. Its purpose is the “disclosure of information regarding how environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria are taken into account in investment policy, as well as on the means implemented to contribute to the energy and ecological transition”. It takes into consideration recent European legislative developments and is closely linked with the European “SFDR” regulation.

The Finance ClimAct consortium welcomes the ambition of the new decree, which continues to place France as a global pioneer in the sustainability/ESG disclosures-related regulation of financial market participants, particularly regarding the ecological Transition. Here are the main provisions of the decree:

• new requirements related to biodiversity and climate risk management and alignment;
• more actors and activities included in the scope;
• enhanced disclosure requirements on sustainability/ESG risk management;
• the adoption of a “continuous improvement plan”;
• the link between the report required by the Decree and the Climate Transparency Hub.