In accordance with its approach to issuance and taps of the Green OATs, Agence France Trésor is releasing the update of the second party opinion on the sustainability performance of the Green auctions realised among 2020. The update was produced by the V.E agency
V.E deems that France’s sustainability performance as a sovereign bond issuer is "advanced”, which is the highest rating on the scale, in each of the three pillars of its ESG rating: environmental responsibility, social responsibility and institutional responsibility. Moreover, V.E also reports a “reasonable level of assurance about the green credentials of the 2020 Green Expenditures" identified by the interministerial working group and on the compliance with the commitments made previously.
Download the full update of Vigeo Eiris’ second party opinion dated June 2020
Background:
Agence France Trésor commissioned V.E as an independent third-party expert to update its earlier opinion on the sustainability credentials and management of the Green OATs. The second party opinion produced for the first launch and the 2018, 2019 and 2020 updates are available on the Green OATs page of Agence France Trésor website.
On 24 January 2017, AFT launched the first benchmark sovereign green bond with a maturity of 22 years and an initial issuance of €7bn. Thus, France confirmed its role as a driving force for reaching the goals set out in the Paris Climate Agreement of December 2015.
Furthermore, on the 16 March 2021, AFT launched a second French sovereign green bond, OAT 2044 0.50% 25 June 2044, regulated by the same frameword as the first Green OAT. AFT regularly taps those Green OATs in response to market demand and up to the limit of eligible green expenditure, which stands at €15bn for 2021. The oustanding amount of the two Green OATs now reaches respectively €28.9bn and €9.3bn for a total of €38.2bn.
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