First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) has announced that it has expanded its financed emissions reduction targets to include five additional sectors: agriculture, aluminium, cement, commercial real estate (CRE), and steel.
According to FAB, the updated targets relate to its ‘Wave 2’ sectors and serve as both a continuation and acceleration of its March 2023 announcement, when it became the first Middle East North Africa (MENA) bank to set financed emissions reduction targets relating to its three ‘Wave 1’ sectors: oil & gas, aviation, and power generation.
The combined targets for the eight sectors will cover 90% of FAB’s financed emissions for corporates and form part of the Group’s sustainable growth strategy; its 2050 net-zero ambition; and its commitment as a member of the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) which the bank joined in October 2021.
Each sector has been analysed individually alongside considerations unique to that industry, including regional variations, it said. FAB’s financed emissions targets are not expected to have a material financial impact.
FAB shared that it has continued to use a science-based and sector-specific methodological approach in target setting with this method fulfilling the requirements of leading standards, such as the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF), and the United Nations convened Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA).
As part of its broader efforts related to emissions reduction, FAB outlined that it continues to work alongside global peer banks and is playing a key role in the NZBA, where signatory banks must transition all operational and attributable greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (Scope 1, 2, and 3) from their lending and investment portfolios to align with pathways to net zero by 2050.
Shargiil Bashir, Chief Sustainability Officer at FAB, commented: “Earlier this year FAB became the first bank in the MENA region to set financed emissions targets, and in doing so, we defined a clear pathway towards a net-zero future. By expanding our targets, we are now able to push forward with greater momentum towards the realisation of that future. Crucially, we understand that emissions reductions is a collaborative process involving diverse stakeholder groups – and we are fully committed to playing our part to deliver meaningful impact from every climate action taken. We believe this important update will inform and enable better investment decisions as well as advance the growth objectives of our clients, as they pursue their own transition and decarbonisation ambitions.”