The State will guarantee two billion euros in “green loans” to businesses to facilitate their adaptation to climate change, the Minister of the Economy Bruno Le Maire announced on Thursday.
Loans exceeding 200,000 euros must be requested from the Public Investment Bank (Bpifrance) from March, and others from bank agencies from July, the minister indicated to economic players gathered in Bercy for a day dedicated to adaptation to climate change.
Large public companies will have to provide a detailed plan
Bruno Le Maire also announced that “all large public companies essential to the operation of our energy and transport systems”, such as SNCF, EDF, or the RTE electricity network, should “provide by the end of 2024 a plan detailed adaptation to global warming”, with “precise, detailed, quantified” proposals.
“I don’t want these vital facilities to be threatened by extreme heat, floods and storms,” he said. We must plan the corresponding decisions, work and investments.” He hoped that “particular attention would be paid to overseas territories”, “particularly threatened by these major climatic events”.
He finally announced that any request for renovation of a public building “which does not take climate change into account” would be refused. “It is much cheaper to adapt now than to repair or react tomorrow,” summarized the minister. He insisted that the guaranteed loans represented “zero public expenditure”.
“Reduce public spending”
“I am in my office to make savings, to reduce public spending and to accelerate debt reduction, certainly not to open the subsidy pump wide,” he warned, considering that guaranteed loans were “a tool infinitely more effective.
Bruno Le Maire and Christophe Béchu, Minister of Ecological Transition and Territorial Cohesion, brought together representatives of the economic sectors and trade union organizations on Thursday in Bercy to launch work on the adaptation of businesses to climate change. The meeting should make it possible to set concrete priorities and objectives in this area with economic players.