EDF and Crédit Agricole CIB sign a financing agreement dedicated to the maintenance of French nuclear power plants

With this deal, EDF and Crédit Agricole CIB have agreed the first transaction in which the funds will be entirely dedicated to the investments made for EDF’s nuclear activities, the first of its kind worldwide in the energy transition field. The loan is part of the “Grand Carénage” (Major Refit), a major industrial programme led by EDF, aimed at improving security and pursuing the operating life of nuclear reactors beyond 40 years.

French nuclear power plants produce very low carbon electricity, with 4g CO2 equivalent per kWh over the life cycle according to a study¹ published by EDF in 2022 and reviewed by independent experts.
EDF Group is the world’s leading electricity producer with no direct CO2 emissions (source ENERDATA²). Moreover, in 2018, the Group made a commitment to help achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and defined greenhouse gas reduction targets for 2030 with milestones in 2023, covering both its direct emissions (scope 1) and its indirect emissions (scope 2 and 3). These goals were approved as part of a "Well Below 2°C" trajectory by the Science Based Targets initiative.

This transaction complies with EDF’s July 2022 Green Financing Framework which was independently reviewed by CICERO Shades of Green. It also complies with the best practices of the Green Loan market (Green Loan Principles of the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA)).

In addition to the noteworthy benefits in the fight against climate change, this agreement highlights the interest of Crédit Agricole group for EDF’s projects, whose economic impacts in France are very significant.

“This new transaction proves EDF continues to innovate with its green finance tools and confirms the major role of nuclear energy in the fight against global warming.”
Xavier Girre, Group Executive Director in charge of EDF’s Finance department

“We are proud to support EDF in this major transaction which significantly contributes to the country’s energy security and confirms our shared goals in terms of decarbonisation and compliance with the Paris agreement’s Net Zero trajectory.”
Xavier Musca, Crédit Agricole CIB’s Chief Executive Officer

¹Study in French available here
²Source : ENERDATA, 2021