Accelerating climate transition: the role of financial institutions in supporting credible corporate plans

Event details

The Accelerate Climate Transition (ACT) initiative, developed by ADEME in partnership with CDP and now hosted by the WBA, provides companies with the structured methodologies needed to design, implement, and evaluate credible climate strategies. By offering sector-specific tools aligned with the Paris Agreement and the 1.5 °C pathway, ACT serves as a vital accountability framework that helps organizations strengthen their transition plans and ensure their readiness for a low-carbon economy.

Objective of the Event

Financial institutions are increasingly expected to play a decisive role in accelerating credible corporate transitions, yet a gap remains between sustainability commitments and the real transformation needed to meet climate objectives. In a context shaped by evolving European frameworks such as SFDR and CSRD, and growing scrutiny over the credibility of transition claims, the challenge is no longer only about allocating capital, but about actively accompanying companies in designing and implementing robust, science-aligned transition plans.

This event aims to explore how financial institutions can move beyond disclosure to become true drivers of transformation, by assessing the credibility of corporate transition plans, supporting companies to structure their strategies, and integrating climate considerations into investment and risk practices.

Program

16:00 – Welcome & Introduction

Ilaria Balletto – ACT Initiative

Daniele Pernigotti - Aequilibria

Dara Karakolis – World Benchmarking Alliance (WBA)

Brief framing:

· Context: credibility gap in transition finance

· Why financial institutions must move from disclosure to active accompaniment

· Introduction to ACT as a structured methodology to assess transition plans

· Presentation of the WBA latest Financial System Benchmark results (assessment of 400 influential banks, insurers, asset managers and asset owners globally – including sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and development finance institutions)

16:15 – Keynote Address

Bank of France - Pierre Meignant, Head of Regulatory and Institutional Affairs for the Climate Indicator

Focus:

1. Why transition credibility matters for financial stability
2. How the Climate Indicator was developed using ACT
3. What this means for financial institutions’ responsibilities

16:35 – Roundtable and open discussion

Accelerating climate transition: the role of financial institutions in supporting credible corporate plans

Participants:

1. Banque de France - Pierre Meignant, Head of Regulatory and Institutional Affairs for the Climate Indicator → brings a supervisory perspective on how structured climate indicators based on ACT can enhance transparency, risk assessment and the credibility of financial institutions’ transition strategies.
2. Siparex – Antoine Joint, Head of Climate → a private equity perspective on integrating ACT into internal scoring tools and actively supporting portfolio companies in strengthening their transition plans.
3. Banca Etica - Tommaso Rondinella, Responsible for impact models and socio-environmental assessment → offers a values-driven banking perspective, illustrating how transition principles can be embedded into lending practices and aligned with real-economy impact.
4. European Investment Bank Group (EIB Group) – (speaker tbc) → brings the perspective of the EU’s climate bank, illustrating how public financial institutions can support credible corporate transitions by aligning financing strategies, investment criteria and advisory support with robust transition pathways.

Discussion themes:

1. How to assess the credibility of corporate transition plans
2. How financial institutions can actively accompany companies
3. Integrating transition logic into investment, lending and risk practices
4. Engagement, accountability and long-term alignment

17:35 – Open questions and key takeaways

18:00 – End of the Event