Supporting clients in their decarbonisation and environmental preservation efforts
In March 2022, LCL and Crédit Agricole CIB launched the first carbon offset structured product eligible to the European Benchmark label, which includes a mechanism to offset the residual carbon emissions of an investment. LCL and Crédit Agricole CIB included an offset mechanism for the residual emissions of the investment by supporting the Yedeni project in Ethiopia, which aims to reduce deforestation in the Bale ecoregion.
In the Americas, the Bank supported the Oriental Republic of Uruguay in launching the first ever “Sustainability-linked” sovereign bond, whose coupon increases or decreases depending on the country’s environmental performance: reduction of greenhouse gas emissions on the one hand and preservation of the primary forest area on the other.
In Asia, Crédit Agricole CIB participated in the first blue and sustainable Dim Sum bond issued by a Chinese local authority. Hainan is located at the southern end of mainland China and has the largest marine area in the country. The funds will be used for ocean-related projects such as clean water, shipping and port logistics, fisheries and seafood value chain, and marine ecosystem restoration.
Floating offshore wind farms are part of a promising emerging sector to develop offshore wind projects where the sea is too deep for fixed foundation structures. It is also a sector in which the Bank is very active. Crédit Agricole CIB supported Ørsted in the sale of a 50% stake in the Hornsea 2 offshore wind farm located off the Yorkshire coast in the UK. With a capacity of 1.3 gigawatts (GW), Hornsea 2 will provide enough green electricity to power the equivalent of over 1.3 million homes per year.
