Fossil fuel firms banned from responsible investment funds in France

The French government has announced that any fossil fuel firms are no longer allowed to be included in responsible investment labelled funds.

Bruno le Maire, the country's minister of Economy, Finance and Recovery, said that oil and gas companies can no longer be part of portfolios of investment vehicles that carry the responsible investment label.

“We must offer a simple and effective label to allow the French to give meaning to their savings," Le Maire said. 

"This is what we are doing with this new RI label, in which the fight against global warming is becoming essential. We will thus allow savers to take into account the ecological transition and businesses to finance their decarbonization more easily," he added.

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The French Ministry of the Economy and Finance launched the label in 2016, to encourage investors and the general public to opt for vehicles that integrate ESG principles. 

In order to obtain such a label, a strict compliance process needs to be followed and an assessment is conducted by an independent body. 

Many French pension funds and insurance firms have moved to invest in responsible investment vehicles. Currently, close to 1,200 funds, representing more than €770 billion of assets under management, have been awarded the label. 

The new labelling standard will come into effect in March of next year. 

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