Abu Dhabi – Mubasher: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) announced plans to lend, invest, and facilitate more than AED 500 billion ($135 billion) in sustainable and transition financing by 2030.
The target marks an 80% increase compared with FAB’s 2021 commitment of AED 275.4 billion ($75 billion), according to a press release.
This represents the largest sustainable finance commitment made by any MENA bank to date, as it accounts for over half of the combined pledge of AED 1 trillion ($270 billion) made by UAE banks.
It also aligns with the sustainable finance announced by the UAE Banks Federation on the sidelines of the 28th annual United Nations (UN) climate conference (COP28), which is being held in Dubai during the 30 November–12 December 2023 period.
FA will enlarge its target to include transition financing projects and early-stage enhanced climate solutions.
Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of FAB, commented: “FAB is deeply integrated into the UAE’s ambition on climate change and net zero, placing sustainability at the heart of social and economic progress.”
“Across the group, we believe in the urgency to scale investments and financing, as the foundation of climate action,” Al Nahyan affirmed.
Hana Al Rostamani, Group CEO of FAB, said: “We mirror its [the UAE] desire to accomplish the unprecedented and unlock 80% more resources for transition finance. Our new target is a floor and not a ceiling.”
During the activities of COP28, FAB and French energy multinational ENGIE inked a memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreement to boost financial decarbonisation solutions.
