The UAE's banking sector has pledged to secure over $270 billion in green funding by 2030, a significant commitment made at the COP28 summit in Dubai.
One of the main subjects of discussion at the COP28 summit in Dubai this year is climate financing. The banking industry in the United Arab Emirates took center stage on Monday when it announced a commitment to raise more than $270 billion in green funding by 2030.
According to Shargiil Bashir, EVP and chief sustainability officer of First Abu Dhabi (FAB), the biggest bank in the United Arab Emirates that took part in the pledge, the funds will be used for very specific and impact-driven projects.
It is unclear how the pledge would be implemented, managed, and governed — that is, whether each bank will act independently or under the direction of the central bank of the United Arab Emirates.
The most recent in a long line of green financing agreements is this $270 billion pledge. Nearly everything that can be categorized as "green" has been promised support since the COP28 began.
Following four days of negotiations, a total of $57 billion in pledges from public and private donors were made. Of these, $30 billion went toward a new fund led by the United Arab Emirates for the private sector, $9 billion went toward World Bank projects related to climate change, and $725 million went toward the Loss and Damage fund, a much-anticipated mechanism unveiled at the COP27 last year to assist developing nations in coping with environmental hazards brought on by global warming.
