Tax law
Our experts in Option Finance magazine | Taxation and Green Finance: A Strategic Tool to Be Developed
Published on 03/10/2026
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By steering investment, taxation serves as a lever that requires a balance between incentives, the cost of capital, and regulatory risks. Current international tensions underscore the strategic importance of the goal of energy independence.
➡️Option Finance
By Cécile de Smet, Partner at Alverny Avocats
The green transition requires a massive reallocation of capital toward activities compatible with climate goals. In this context, taxation can serve as a powerful tool for steering capital flows by influencing the profitability of projects—and even production and transportation chains. Savings also play a central role in this strategy, as illustrated by the 2023 Green Industry Act. The challenge remains to balance technical complexity, clarity, and legal certainty. Furthermore, the development of alternative energy sources aligns with sovereignty objectives—both at the French and European levels—which undoubtedly warrant further incentives.
Taxation: A Strategic Pillar of Green Finance
Alongside prudential standards, market regulation, and reporting requirements, taxation directly influences investment decisions. For management, the tax aspect is no longer limited to optimizing the effective tax rate: it affects project selection, the structuring of financing, and the allocation of both internal and external savings.
Tax incentives, tax credits, as well as the monetization and taxation of carbon and transportation, can alter funding costs and profitability.
The question then becomes: “To what extent does tax treatment enhance (or not enhance) the economic appeal of an investment?”
What’s missing from the toolkit: transparency and measures to compensate operators who adopt more environmentally friendly practices.
Tax Measures to Support Green Finance
1. Incentives for Investment in Transition Assets
Although the 2026 budget—passed after a protracted debate and finalized on February 20—is rather timid on this issue, except for a few “small measures,” public authorities have in recent years expanded the range of mechanisms designed to make investments in transition infrastructure (renewable energy, energy efficiency, low-carbon mobility, etc.) more attractive. Accelerated depreciation, sector-specific preferential schemes, and targeted tax credits: these measures impact the net profitability of projects and the risk profile perceived by investors.
The key issue for finance departments is the eligibility and sustainability of the framework. The classification of an investment as “green” often depends on technical criteria or external certifications, which are subject to change. A precise mapping of the relevant assets and close monitoring of regulatory texts have become essential to validate assumptions.
Added to these concerns are issues regarding the clarity of the administration’s interpretation of these criteria in the event of an audit, several years after the scheme’s implementation, and sometimes managed by operational teams that have changed between the initial decision and the audit—in the case of depreciation or certain loans, potential challenges by tax authorities may extend well beyond the standard three-fiscal-year statute of limitations.
2. Savings as a Vehicle for Redirecting Capital
Savings—particularly regulated savings—constitute a major channel for financing the transition. The 2023 Green Industry Act establishes, among other things, investment ratios for regulated funds and, for young savers, the Climate Future Savings Plan, which aims to allocate savings toward decarbonization. For issuers and financial intermediaries, these funds represent a potentially stable source of capital, provided they offer products that are transparent, competitive, and aligned with climate expectations.
From the investors’ perspective, the challenge is to understand how these new products fit in with existing tools (life insurance, PEA, certified funds, etc.) and, ultimately, the added value of each solution.
Paradoxically, the requirements of the Green Industry Act do not necessarily direct funds toward “green” projects but rather toward European and independent companies—the technical standard can also serve as a tool to advance sovereignty objectives.
The rise of green finance makes taxation a strategic factor for economic actors: it helps channel capital and can reshape certain business models and even certain behaviors, but it adds a layer of complexity and risk due to its lack of transparency and its diffuse nature—for now.
