JUNE 21 — Mobilising financing for climate action

An increasing number of Sustainable Finance Taxonomies are emerging worldwide to support the mobilisation of trillion of dollars for climate action. 

ESG frameworks have diverse origins and had traditionally excluded nuclear energy, until recently 

ESG Frameworks have diverse origins and traditionally excluded nuclear energy which had precluded the nuclear sector access to development financing from Multilateral Development Banks (MDBs) including The World Bank (until June 10, 2025), Regional Banks including Asian Development Banks (until November 24, 2025) and Government financing and discouraged financial institutions from financing Nuclear Projects and Nuclear Companies. 

As case in point during the Climate Governance Summit 2024 #CGS2024, several banks including CIMB, HSBC and UOB ( Fig 1) had shared their great support to finance renewables as part of the bank’s portfolio to support sustainable financing during the Panel Session on Case Studies on Financing the Transition, I had during Q&A enquired whether in view that in addition to Renewable energy but also nuclear energy is now recognised as key clean energy source important to  help nations reach net zero, whether the banks will support financing nuclear power. 

Ms Ng Wei Wei, CEO UOB shared that the bank will align with Government policy and as at that point in time there was no government policy to invest in nuclear power, the bank has not considered financing this sector yet. Mr Gurdip Singh Sidhu CEO CIMB Bank had also shared a similar view point. 

After the conclusion of this panel, I had approached Y Bhg Dato’ Omar Siddiq Bin Amin Noer Rashid, CEO HSBC Malaysia to share with him that HSBC is one of the key financiers for nuclear power. Y Bhg Dato’ Omar Siddiq advised me to meet PETRA on Nuclear Power.

It is my pleasure to share that I had received an invitation from MyPower, an Agency under PETRA as Subject Matter Expert on Financing Nuclear Power. However as I had another Consultancy on Nuclear Power, I had to gently decline MyPower’s kind invitation but look forward to assisting PETRA and MyPower on future Nuclear Power including Financing Projects.

Nuclear energy, a strong performer when analysed against the ESG Indicators 

After decades of being shunned by a number investors and banks, recent studies including a report by the Centre for ESG & Sustainability (CESG) in partnership with the Columbia University’s International Research Institute for Climate and Society underscores that nuclear energy is a strong performer when analysed against the ESG standards including its carbon free footprint, generation of reliable baseload electricity, less land usage compared to other energy sources as well as the flexibility of its output, nuclear contributes to the stability of the grid. 

Additionally, the Generation IV International Forum had produced a report that describes how nuclear energy could report against the World Economic Forum’s ESG framework of Governance, Planet, People, and Prosperity. 

Nuclear energy projects has attracted sustainable financing such as green bonds and green loans 

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had reported that it is necessary for the nuclear industry to prove its compliance with relevant sustainability criteria and reporting requirements and highlighted that in recent years, nuclear energy projects attracted sustainable financing such as green bonds and green loans. This trend offers a promising capital market for nuclear energy projects. 

Global banks are increasingly updating their sustainable finance frameworks to include nuclear energy in their green loans and green bond portfolios. 

Recognising the strategic role of nuclear energy for decarbonisation to reach net zero, a number of banks have developed and several updated their Sustainable finance framework to include nuclear power.

A world first in the green loan market

In November 2022, Crédit Agricole CIB signed the world’s first green loan entirely dedicated to the nuclear sector. The bank had issued a €1 billion bilateral green loan to French Utility Électricité de France (EDF) to fund the maintenance of existing French nuclear power plants. 

This loan was the first worldwide entirely dedicated to nuclear energy activities and was made possible by EDF’s updated Green Financing Framework, which incorporated nuclear power following the European Union’s green taxonomy. 

Press Release by EDF had highlighted that this transaction complies with EDF’s July 2022 Green Financing Framework which was independently reviewed by CICERO Shades of Green. It also complies with the best practices of the Green Loan market (Green Loan Principles of the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (LSTA)). 

The loan is part of the Grand Carénage, a major industrial programme that aims to improve safety and extend the service life of nuclear reactors beyond 40 years while creating economic activity in the French regions. 

Two years later on May 13, 2024, EDF announces the signature of green bank loans for a total amount of c. €5.8 billion with maturities of between 3 and 5 years with major international banks, including BNP Paribas, Bank of America, Crédit Agricole CIB, ING, Natixis CIB, Société Générale, Wells Fargo. 

Rothschild & Co acted as lead financial adviser across equity, debt, and credit ratings, while BNP Paribas acted as joint debt financial adviser to Sizewell C on the capital raise. HSBC acted as French authorities and green loan coordinator, alongside Santander CIB as documentation coordinator on the export credit-backed facility. 

Green Loan Facility to refinance UAE’s Barakah Nuclear Power Plant: First of its kind in MENA region and Asia 

Legal Community Mena had reported on March 14, 2024 that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant’s AED8.89 billion refinancing, hailed as a Green Loan Facility, marks a pivotal step in reinforcing its vital role in rapidly decarbonising the UAE’s power grid. Recognised as the first of its kind in the MENA Region and Asia, this financing arrangement with Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank PJSC (ADCB) and First Abu Dhabi Bank PJSC (FAB) underscores the plant’s commitment to sustainable energy practices. 

14 major banks support the tripling of nuclear power by 2050 at Climate Week NYC — September 2024 

The World Nuclear Association (WNA) had reported on 23 September 2024 that on the sidelines of Climate Week in New York City in September 2024, major banks, government representatives and industry executives met at the Financing the Tripling of Nuclear Energy-Leadership Event, followed by the Net Zero Nuclear Forum, hosted in the Rainbow Room, Rockefeller Center. The nations endorsing the Declaration to Triple Nuclear Energy launched at COP28 in 2023 were joined by 14 financial institutions that expressed support for the call to action to triple global nuclear energy capacity by 2050. 

The WNA underscored that the financial institutions recognised that global civil nuclear energy projects have an important role to play in the transition to a low-carbon economy. They further expressed support for long-term objectives of expanding nuclear electricity generation and the broader nuclear industry to accelerate the clean energy transition. 

The group of these 14 financial institutions include Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Ares Management, Bank of America, Barclays, BNP Paribas, Brookfield, Citi, Credit Agricole CIB, Goldman Sachs, Guggenheim Securities LLC, Morgan Stanley, Rothschild & Co., Segra Capital Management, and Societe Generale. 

World’s first nuclear power project to be privately financed — Sizewell C in the UK 

The Asset reported on November 12, 2025 that Sizewell C on the Suffolk coast in eastern England, the world’s first nuclear power project to be privately financed, has reached financial close and the total estimated cost for the project is £38 billion (US$50 billion). 

It further highlighted that following the conclusion of an equity raise and final investment decision in July, £5 billion of debt has been raised through a Bpifrance Assurance Export ECA credit facility, along with a £500 million working capital facility and a term loan from the UK National Wealth Fund 

The Asset listed the 13 lenders on the BpifranceAE debt facility as ABN Amro, Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria ( BBVA ), Santander CIB, BNP Paribas, Crédit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, CaixaBank, Citibank, Crédit Industriel et Commercial ( CIC ), HSBC Bank, Lloyds Bank, National Westminster Bank, Natixis, and Société Générale. 

Rothschild & Co acted as lead financial adviser across equity, debt, and credit ratings, while BNP Paribas acted as joint debt financial adviser to Sizewell C on the capital raise. HSBC acted as French authorities and green loan coordinator, alongside Santander CIB as documentation coordinator on the export credit-backed facility. 

Recommendations for Asean and Malaysia 

As Asean is vulnerable to the impact of climate change and global warming evident from the destruction of homes, infrastructures, lives and livelihoods of its citizens following severe floods and presently facing challenges of energy security arising from geo political tensions, investments in all sources of clean energies including Renewable and Nuclear power is critical.

Following from the February 28, 2026 US -Iran conflict, several Asean Member countries have announce plans to further explore nuclear power as part of energy mix , some inking agreements with International Government and businesses to study and cooperate on nuclear power and others establishing collaboration to construct nuclear power plants. 

Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos Jr had announced the country was in a National State of Energy Emergency on March 24, 2026 under Executive Order 110 to address potential fuel supply disruptions caused by rising tensions in the Middle East. Manila Electric Company (Meralco) has signed MoU with Korea’s KHNP to study the suitability to revive the present mothballed large Nuclear Power Plant (600 MW) in Bataan , to conduct a two-phase technical and 4 economic feasibility study to assess the plant’s structural integrity and the exact cost of refurbishment and on April 3, Meralco signed a memorandum of cooperation with EDF, a global leader in energy, to explore the potential of implementing a nuclear energy program in the Philippines.

On March 1, 2026, Singapore’s Energy Market Authority and South Korea’s Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power (KHNP) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on joint studies regarding the potential deployment of SMRs. 

In Vietnam, Prime Minister (PM) Pham Minh Chinh established a Task Force on Energy Security in early March and PM Chinh visited Russia from March 22-25, underscoring the urgency of the situation, given his impending retirement in early April. During his visit, Russia and Vietnam have officially signed a historic intergovernmental agreement to construct Vietnam’s first nuclear power plant, Ninh Thuan 1. This landmark deal, signed in Moscow on March 23, 2026, marks the official revival of a project originally proposed in 2009 but suspended in 2016.

The agreement outlines the construction of two LARGE advanced Russian designed VVER-1200 reactors with a total capacity of 2,400 MW., with target completion by end 2030.

In March 2026, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Energy Transition and Water Transformation Datuk Amar Fadillah Yusof had announced that Malaysia will explore nuclear power as part of energy mix to enhance energy security.

On June 10, 2026 BT reported that at the Bilateral Summit Meeting between Malaysia’s Prime Minister The Rt Hon Anwar Ibrahim and Japan’s Prime Minister The Rt Hon Takaichi Sanae in Japan ( Fig 5), Malaysia and Japan agree to cooperate on Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy, with Tokyo offering capacity building support as Kuala Lumpur evaluates reactor technology options, potential sites and institutional arrangements for the country’s long term energy future. Japan is set to formulate a support plan based on Malaysia’s ongoing nuclear preparations. 

Thus although in 2024, banks in Malaysia and in Asean Member countries may not be prepared or interested to consider investing in nuclear power, however with the new developments in the two years after the Climate Governance Summit 2024 testimony to several Asean leaders inking agreements with international leaders and businesses on nuclear power, it is imperative for selected big banks in Asean including Malaysia to begin preparing staff, management and BOD to plan and prepare for the introduction of investing in nuclear power, taking into consideration the banks listed in this article which have and continue to support financing nuclear power to meet and discuss with these international banks their business plans, business models in financing nuclear power and adopting as well as adapting the most suitable business plans and models for Banks in Asean Member Countries ,including Malaysia to finance nuclear power which is anticipated to be key for Asean to reach net zero as well as achieve energy security and energy sovereignty. 

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.