GOOD NEWS
TOURISM: THE FRENCH ARE REDISCOVERING FRANCE GREEN FINANCE, A LEVERAGE FOR CHANGE Green finance to the rescue of the environment? The idea of channelling investments towards the sustainable economy and the fight against CO2 emissions has in any case gained momentum since the 2015 Paris Agreement, explains Yulia Titova, professor of finance at IÉSEG: «the text has stimulated the development of certain specific financial products: loans and funds linked to sustainability, green savings products, etc. The case of bonds illustrates the extent of the phenomenon, says the researcher: «the European Investment Bank issued a 600 million dollar climate-responsible bond in 2007. Today, the issuing of cumulative green bonds has reached 1 475 billion dollars. And everyone is getting involved: «Direct contributions to green finance come mainly from institutional investors, but private operators are participating directly or indirectly through mutual funds, specialised savings accounts such as the Livret de Développement Durable in France...». While water, transport, energy, real estate and waste treatment have long concentrated the bulk of green investments, other sectors are increasingly being financed through these funds, such as the automotive and textile industries.
1,475
BILLION DOLLARS CORRESPONDING TO THE CUMULATIVE ISSUE OF GREEN BONDS
As the world’s leading tourist destination, France has suffered from a pandemic that has largely paralysed trade. To bounce back, some are betting on a return to more local and more virtuous tourism. Axel Fenaux, co-founder and CTO of Revlys, an agency committed to responsible travel, explains this trend. WITH COVID, SOME TRAVELLERS HAVE REFOCUSED ON MORE LOCAL DESTINATIONS. IS THIS A NEW PHENOMENON?
The pandemic has accelerated a basic trend. When we founded Revlys in 2018, we were in fact counting on the travel boom in France, which moreover enabled us to strongly develop our activity during the crisis at a time when agencies specialising in long distance travel particularly suffered.
THE CRISIS HAS ALSO BROUGHT THE CONCEPT OF ENVIRONMENTALLY RESPONSIBLE TRAVEL BACK TO THE FOREFRONT. WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
We can consider that the only way to be virtuous is to travel without emitting carbon, for example by favouring ultralocal bicycle tourism. The other possibility is to move FRANCE HAS BEEN THE LEADING TOURIST DESTINATION FOR THE PAST 30 YEARS IN TERMS OF VISITOR NUMBERS, BUT IS ONLY THIRD IN TERMS OF REVENUE, BEHIND THE US AND SPAIN (2019). WWW.REVLYS.COM
Yulia TITOVA
Professor of finance at IÉSEG.
Axel FENAUX
Co-founder and CTO at Revlys. 16
N°06 I A new way of talking business
