ABU DHABI (ALETIHAD)
Emirates NBD has launched what it described as the UAE’s first dedicated Transition Finance Framework to support corporate and institutional customers seeking to shift towards more sustainable business models.
The framework establishes a methodology for identifying, assessing and labelling transition-finance activities that contribute to reducing emissions in high-emitting and hard-to-abate sectors, the banking group said in a statement.
The sectors covered include manufacturing, mining, power and energy, real estate, transportation and storage, agriculture and information technology.
The framework is intended to support companies whose activities may not currently qualify as green but which are taking measures to reduce emissions and move towards lower-carbon business models.
Emirates NBD said the framework was developed with reference to international guidance, including the International Capital Market Association’s Climate Transition Finance Handbook and Climate Transition Bond Guidelines 2025, as well as the Loan Market Association’s Guide to Transition Loan Finance 2025.
The bank commissioned DNV Assurance to provide a second-party opinion on the framework’s credibility and alignment with market practices.
Corporate and institutional customers will receive guidance on activities that could qualify for transition finance and financing support for investments involving emissions reduction, energy efficiency, cleaner technologies and low-carbon business models, the statement said.
“This new framework expands our existing sustainable finance and sustainability-linked financing frameworks, ensuring we are equipped to support the real economy transition across the UAE and the wider region,” Vijay Bains, Chief Sustainability Officer and Group Head of ESG at Emirates NBD, said.
The framework would provide the bank with a consistent internal methodology for assessing eligible transition activities and identifying credible transition opportunities with customers, he added.
Bains said the initiative would support Emirates NBD’s commitment to mobilise $30 billion in sustainable and transition finance by 2030.
The bank’s target forms part of its support for the UAE Banks Federation’s ambition to mobilise Dh1 trillion in sustainable finance by 2030.