AIB CEO Colin Hunt. Photo: Gareth Chaney/Collins
AIB is tripling its Green Lending Climate Action Fund to €30bn.
The fund lends to projects which are focused on supporting the transition to a low carbon economy, with AIB on track to allocate its existing €10bn fund by the end of this year.
The Climate Action Fund was first launched in 2019 and had a target of lending €1bn per annum for green and transition projects over five years.
A further €5bn was then allocated to the fund two years ago.
The bank has also set a target that 70pc of its new lending will be green or transition by 2030 as it introduces more products and services which assist customers to reduce carbon emissions.
It has also raised a total of €4bn from the issuance of green bonds over the past three years.
“The floods and fires we have seen around the world this year have reminded us yet again of the importance of protecting our people, our planet and our prosperity from the devastating impacts of climate change,” chief executive Colin Hunt said.
“At AIB we recognise that now is the time to take further action to support our customers by increasing our Climate Action Fund to €30bn to help build the green infrastructure of the future.”
He added that AIB is also creating plans to align activity across the bank to focus on climate capital.
The bank will also host its annual sustainability conference today, an event it first launched in 2017.
Speakers include former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern and author and comedian Trevor Noah.
