Climate criteria for export financing

The cruise shipping sector is subject to the following, partly interconnected frameworks:

• The International Maritime Organization’s (IMO) strategy on the reduction of GHG emissions from ships
• The EU taxonomy’s criteria for marine protection and measures to mitigate climate change in passenger water transport
• The Science-Based Targets initiative’s (SBTi) guidelines for the maritime transport sector
• The Climate Bonds Initiative’s (CBI) criteria for shipping companies
• Poseidon Principles’ framework for responsible ship financing.

A project is considered to include climate-positive features when:

• A vessel uses 100% zero-emission fuel, or
• Its emissions reduction target is in line with the Paris Agreement or the revised IMO GHG emissions reduction strategy. The reduction of emissions is monitored on a vessel-by-vessel basis with the help of Poseidon Principles’ calculation framework.

The pulp and paper sector is subject to the Climate Bond Initiative's (CBI) forestry criteria, which have been supplemented by the EU taxonomy’s criteria for the mitigation of climate change in energy production. 

A project is considered to include climate-positive friendly features when: 

• All of its forest-based virgin raw materials are FSC and/or PEFC certified – this requirement does not apply to circular non-virgin raw materials such as recycled paper.
• At least 50% of the energy used in the production of pulp, paper, or cardboard is produced from renewable energy sources. In addition, it must meet the climate change mitigation criteria set for bioenergy in the EU taxonomy. 

At the moment, the telecommunications sector is not covered by any international frameworks. While the Climate Bond Initiative (CBI) has identified the development needs of the ICT sector, it has not yet defined any specific criteria. However, we are still willing to monitor the climate impacts of the projects implemented in this sector.  

We will request the following information for export projects in the telecommunications sector, to assess their climate-friendly features:  

• Does the telecommunications network operate on renewable or other low-carbon energy? 
• Has the project estimated the carbon footprint of its telecommunications network or calculated the carbon intensity coefficient of the electricity it uses?

Modernisation projects that focus on telecommunications networks can have a positive climate impact, as they can help other industries and social functions become less dependent on carbon. For this reason, we will also request the following information: 

• Does the project have a positive climate handprint, i.e. does it promote a low-carbon future?  
• Has the project estimated its positive effects with the quantity of reduced CO2 emissions?  
• Will the project introduce new technologies to replace older, more energy-intensive technologies?   

The mining sector follows the OECD Export Credit Agreement's Climate Change Sector Understanding (CCSU) on clean energy minerals and ores standard, supplemented by the EU taxonomy’s criteria for mitigating climate change in energy production (mine power plants).  

In energy sector projects, we make use of the EU Taxonomy’s criteria for mitigating climate change in energy production. 

The projects subject to these criteria include: 

• Renewable energy production, such as wind, solar, and ocean energy
• Energy storage 
• Energy production with biofuels  
• Energy production with fossil gaseous fuels.