Which ESG frameworks now embrace nuclear energy for sustainable finance?

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ESG frameworks now embrace nuclear energy for sustainable finance

ESG frameworks are increasingly making room for nuclear energy within sustainable finance, after earlier ESG approaches often excluded it from development financing and discouraged banks from funding nuclear projects. Recent work and industry reporting point to nuclear being assessed against ESG indicators and, more concretely, being incorporated into banks’ sustainable finance frameworks and green loan or green bond portfolios.
Nuclear energy is now evaluated within ESG indicators and reporting models
A shift in how nuclear is assessed is reflected in studies that describe nuclear as a strong performer against ESG standards. These analyses cite factors such as a carbon-free footprint, reliable baseload electricity generation, less land usage than other energy sources, and output flexibility that can support grid stability. In parallel, the Generation IV International Forum has produced a report describing how nuclear energy could be reported against the World Economic Forum’s ESG framework covering Governance, Planet, People, and Prosperity.
Banks’ sustainable finance frameworks have been updated to include nuclear power
Beyond high-level ESG models, the practical change for sustainable finance is that financial institutions have developed and updated their sustainable finance frameworks to include nuclear power. The International Atomic Energy Agency has also reported that, in recent years, nuclear energy projects have attracted sustainable financing such as green bonds and green loans, signalling that nuclear is being treated as eligible within sustainability-linked capital markets when sustainability criteria and reporting requirements are met. This is reflected in multiple banks expanding their green loan and green bond portfolios to cover nuclear energy.
The EU green taxonomy has enabled nuclear inclusion in specific green financing frameworks
A clear example of ESG-aligned inclusion is the way nuclear was incorporated through the European Union’s green taxonomy. In November 2022, Crédit Agricole CIB signed the world’s first green loan entirely dedicated to the nuclear sector, issuing a €1 billion bilateral green loan to EDF for maintenance of existing French nuclear power plants. The loan was made possible by EDF’s updated Green Financing Framework that incorporated nuclear power following the EU’s green taxonomy.
Nuclear-related green loan facilities have been recognised in regional financing contexts
The same direction is visible in financing structures outside Europe, with nuclear-linked green loans being labelled as such. In March 2024, UAE Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant’s AED8.89 billion refinancing was reported as a Green Loan Facility, described as the first of its kind in the MENA region and Asia, arranged with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC (ADCB) and First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC (FAB). In addition, on 23 September 2024, 14 financial institutions backed a call to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050, explicitly recognising nuclear’s role in transitioning to a low-carbon economy.

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Which ESG frameworks now embrace nuclear energy for sustainable finance?

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