How has the global ESG perception of nuclear energy shifted?

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Nuclear energy has moved from being largely excluded from ESG finance to increasingly being treated as ESG-aligned, with major banks expanding sustainable finance frameworks to include it.

ESG frameworks traditionally excluded nuclear energy, which limited the nuclear sector’s access to development financing from multilateral development banks and discouraged many financial institutions from backing nuclear projects and nuclear companies. Recent studies, including work by the Centre for ESG & Sustainability (CESG) in partnership with Columbia University, describe nuclear energy as a strong performer against ESG indicators such as a carbon-free footprint, reliable baseload electricity generation, less land usage, and grid-stability contribution. In parallel, nuclear energy has started attracting sustainable financing instruments such as green bonds and green loans, and banks have begun updating their sustainable finance frameworks to include nuclear power.
ESG frameworks’ earlier exclusion from MDB and other financing
The earlier ESG approach prevented nuclear energy from accessing development financing from major multilateral and regional institutions, including the World Bank (until June 10, 2025) and regional development banks such as Asian Development Banks (until November 24, 2025). This exclusion also extended to government financing and discouraged financial institutions from financing nuclear projects and nuclear companies. In the same period, banks were publicly focused on financing renewables in sustainable portfolios, with specific discussions at Climate Governance Summit 2024 involving banks such as CIMB, HSBC, and UOB.
Studies and ESG indicators now positioning nuclear as a “strong performer”
More recent ESG-focused analysis has shifted the narrative by evaluating nuclear energy against established ESG indicators. CESG, in partnership with Columbia University, highlighted nuclear energy’s carbon-free footprint, reliable baseload electricity, less land usage compared with other energy sources, and flexibility of output, alongside contributions to grid stability. The Generation IV International Forum also reported nuclear energy’s alignment with the World Economic Forum’s ESG framework across Governance, Planet, People, and Prosperity.
Sustainable lending and bond activity has expanded for nuclear projects
Sustainable finance activity has increasingly reflected this change in perception. The International Atomic Energy Agency reported that nuclear projects have attracted sustainable financing such as green bonds and green loans, while stressing that the industry must demonstrate compliance with relevant sustainability criteria and reporting requirements. This has helped create a more defined capital-market pathway for nuclear energy projects.
Major banks have begun incorporating nuclear into green loan and green bond portfolios
Global banks have started updating sustainable finance frameworks to include nuclear energy in their green finance offerings. Examples include Crédit Agricole CIB issuing what was described as the world’s first green loan entirely dedicated to the nuclear sector: a €1 billion bilateral green loan to EDF signed in November 2022. EDF later signed green bank loans of about €5.8 billion in May 2024, while the UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant secured an AED8.89 billion green loan facility in March 2024, described as the first of its kind in MENA and Asia; and in September 2024, 14 major financial institutions supported a call to triple nuclear power by 2050 at Climate Week NYC.

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How has the global ESG perception of nuclear energy shifted?

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