Can French green banks really play a role against climate change?

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on Euronews or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news: Green neobanks in France, such as Green-Got and Helios, established in 2020, are aiming to challenge traditional banks involved in fossil fuel industries by focusing on eco-friendly banking and contributing to the fight against climate change

🔭 The context: Traditional French banks have been significantly involved in financing the global fossil fuel industry
• Green neobanks propose an alternative by ensuring their financial activities support environmentally friendly projects and reduce carbon emissions

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: The approach of these neobanks is to reduce the carbon footprint of banking activities and support projects that preserve biodiversity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions
• Their initiatives include funding reforestation and solar power projects

⏭️ What's next: Green neobanks are relatively new and have the potential to grow and attract more customers. Green-Got, for example, has already garnered 62,000 clients
• However, their impact is limited by their size and the fact that they don't hold banking licenses, restricting their ability to offer a full range of banking services like mortgages

💬 One quote: "One euro produces four times fewer carbon emissions than one issued by a big French bank" (Maud Caillaux, co-founder of Green-Got)

📈 One stat: French neobanks have financed projects worth €6 million since 2020, a small figure compared to the estimated €60 to €70 billion needed annually for France's green transition

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