Italian multinational energy company Eni has issued a €750 million (US$801.3 million) sustainability-linked bond (SLB) prompting NGO Reclaim Finance to query the firm’s climate commitments. “The support for this bond raises questions about the climate commitments of any financial institution involved,” Reclaim Finance said in a statement. As SLBs are not earmarked for specific projects and need to be based on the issuer’s overall climate commitments and full decarbonisation strategy, the NGO said this raises questions about how the banks involved assessed the credibility of the bond. Lara Cuvelier, Sustainable Investment Campaigner at Reclaim Finance, said: “By supporting this supposed SLB, these banks and investors are not only undermining their much-vaunted climate commitments, but discrediting the purpose of the SLB. An SLB issued for a company that is developing fossil fuel projects is pure and plain greenwashing.”
🚨 @SocieteGenerale, @Credit_Agricole & @intesasanpaolo were spotted helping @eni issue a €2 billion toxic bond.
The worst thing about it? A part of the bond is "sustainability linked" while renewable energies will account for only 7% of @eni's energy mix by 2030 🤡 pic.twitter.com/1GRX1bInAw
— Reclaim Finance (@ReclaimFinance) May 31, 2023
