‘Choose France’ Summit Secures €20 Billion for New Projects

Today’s ESG Updates

• France Secures €20B in Foreign Investment: At the “Choose France” summit, President Macron announced €20B in new projects across AI, renewables, and defense.
• Honda cuts EV funding by 30%: The Japanese car manufacturer has chosen to reduce its EV investment from 10 trillion yen to 7 trillion yen. 
• Reforestation Company re.green Gains Financing: Brazilian firm focused on forest restoration secured 80 million reais from the country’s Climate Fund.
• Floating Wind Tender Opens in Norway: Despite setbacks, the first floating wind tender began operations in Utsira Nord this week. 

€20 billion invested in new projects at “Choose France” summit

At the “Choose France” summit on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron announced that the summit is expected to secure €20 billion to fund projects in AI, renewables, and defense. These new investments come in addition to the €20 billion committed to AI-specific projects at the Paris AI summit in February. Some investors include Revolut, Amazon, and Prologis. Prologis, a logistics company based in the U.S., aims to open four new data centers in Paris with an investment of €6.4 billion. France has been consistently leading international investment for the past six years. Despite this, many French companies have continued investing outside of France. Most notably, French pharmaceutical company Sanofi intends to invest upwards of $20 billion in U.S. manufacturing. Choosing where to invest money in this uncertain world can be difficult. ESG tools offer support when making sustainable investments.

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Further reading: ‘Choose France’ summit brings 20 billion euros of new investment

Honda cuts $20 billion from EV investments

Honda Motor President Toshihiro Mibe announced a 30% decrease in Electric Vehicle (EV) investment, from 10 trillion yen to 7 trillion yen (about $48.5 billion). Mibe attributed this decrease in investment to the decline in EV growth. This lull in the market may result from an easing of environmental regulations in Europe and North America. The decision to decrease investment mirrors Honda’s two-year postponement of a new EV factory and battery plant in Canada. Nevertheless, the Japanese automaker remains firm in its commitment to 100% EVs in new car sales in 2040. Mibe said, “EV will be the optimal solution for achieving carbon neutrality from the long-term perspective.”

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Further reading: Honda to cut EV investment plan by 30% to 7 tril. yen

Brazilian reforestation company receives landmark funding 

Brasil’s re.green is a forest restoration company that has restored 26,000 hectares of forest across Brazil. It announced Monday that it has secured 80 million reais (about $14 million) of funding from the Brazilian Development Bank (BNDES). This financing comes from the country’s Climate Fund. Another major player in the project is Bradesco, a leading bank in Brazil and Latin America. With this funding, re.green hopes to restore an additional 16,000 hectares in the Amazon and Atlantic Forests. This deal has received the highest possible “Dark Green” S&P Global rating. This is the first project in Brazil to receive biodiversity labeling. 

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Further reading: re.green receives R$ 80 million from Brazil’s Climate Fund in a landmark operation featuring biodiversity labeling, enabled by Bradesco and BNDES

Floating wind tender begins operations in Norway

After many postponements, Norway began operations of its first floating wind tender. This move to floating wind aims to shift away from bottom-fixed turbines that are not suitable for deep waters. Despite supply chain challenges and higher costs, this new offshore wind site in Utsira Nord is a massive win for the wind energy sector. The Ministry of Energy is looking for bidders to develop up to 500 MW projects. Although Norway is not part of the European Union, the country must still follow EU regulations to participate in the internal market. Investing in offshore wind is a great way to offset carbon emissions, along with other ESG solutions.

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Further reading: Norway opens floating offshore wind tender

Editor’s Note: The opinions expressed here by the authors are their own, not those of impakter.com — Cover Photo Credit:  Sue Winston