• Incorporates the recommendations of the Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and informs the bank’s transition pathway to net zero by 2050.  

Abu Dhabi: First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), the UAE’s largest bank and one of the world’s largest and strongest financial institutions, is the first MENA bank to publish a Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) aligned climate report.

The TCFD standard, promoted by the Financial Stability Board since 2015, urges entities to specify the resilience of their strategies to climate-related risks (physical and transitional) and opportunities.  The report delivers on FAB’s 2019 commitment to agree to adopt TCFD recommendations into its reporting and disclosure processes.

FAB’s TCFD Aligned Climate Report outlines the bank’s progress on its four key themes: governance model, strategy, ability to manage risks, and reports on key metrics and targets related to climate change.

The framework should help FAB’s investors and other key stakeholders understand how the bank considers and assesses climate-related risks and opportunities.

FAB has made significant advances across the four thematic areas:

Governance: Climate risk is governed across the organisation including at the Board level and throughout active committees.

Strategy: Climate is embedded across the bank’s strategy through transition finance for net zero and sustainable finance targets for 2030. FAB’s scenario analysis informs the bank’s potential climate risk exposure.

Risk Management: ESG risk identification and assessment is covered under FAB’s group-wide ESG Risk Framework and reviewed annually.

Metrics and Targets: Since 2019, FAB has monitored its Scope 1 and 2 emissions and has set financed emissions targets, which cover 90% of the bank’s portfolio emissions by 2030.

Shargiil Bashir, Chief Sustainability Officer at First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB), said: “Adoption of the TCFD recommendations is an important step for FAB, as it enables us to recognise, assess, and disclose the risks and opportunities related to climate change. This standardisation in reporting builds a process and mechanism for response, as climate risk is measured and therefore can be managed more effectively. With a more holistic view into the financial impact of climate change, we’re also able to support our clients by ensuring they are better prepared to meet the challenges of decarbonisation as well as the opportunities that arise from the transition to net zero. At the same time, the adoption of this framework helps to build resilience throughout the entire financial ecosystem and right across the UAE’s economy.”

FAB’s alignment with TCFD recommendations follows a series of climate-related milestones by the bank. In October 2021, FAB joined the industry-led, UN-convened Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), and in doing so, became the first Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) bank to commit to net zero by 2050. FAB is also a signatory to the Principles for Responsible Banking (PRB) as well as the Principles for Carbon Accounting (PCAF), and most recently the COP28 Net Zero Transition Charter, among other internationally recognised initiatives.

FAB’s TCFD Aligned Climate Report can be downloaded here.

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About First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB):

Headquartered in Abu Dhabi with a strategic global footprint across 20 markets, FAB is the finance and trade gateway to the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA). With total assets of AED 1.2 trillion (USD 323 billion) as of September-end 2023, FAB is among the top 50 banks globally by market capitalisation and one of the world’s largest banking groups. The bank provides financial expertise to its wholesale and retail client franchise across four business units: Investment Banking, Corporate and Commercial Banking, Consumer Banking, and Global Private Banking. FAB is listed on the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange (ADX) and rated Aa3/AA-/AA- by Moody’s, S&P and Fitch, respectively, with a stable outlook. On sustainability, FAB holds an MSCI rating of ‘A’, also ranked among the top 10% of banks globally by Refinitiv’s ESG Scores and the best performer in the MENA region.  FAB is a strategic pathway partner of the 28th UN Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP28), which is being held in the UAE from November 30 to December 12, 2023.

For further information, visit: www.bankfab.com