According to a new Sustainable Finance Framework, Dubai Islamic Bank intends to finance social and environmental projects.
The framework would enable the lender to issue green and sustainability-related Islamic bonds and loans to finance projects in wastewater management, renewable energy, clean transportation, green buildings, and wastewater management as well as to assist job development.
Investor demand for ESG-linked financing has increased and interest has picked up in the Gulf and the larger Middle East, with more chances to participate in projects related to sustainability and the energy transition.
The next two significant climate change conferences, COP27 and COP28, will take place in Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, respectively.
Green bond issuance also enables regional borrowers to diversify their investor base. First Abu Dhabi Bank raised USD 700 million from green bonds earlier this month, while Saudi Arabia’s sovereign Public Investment Fund recently raised USD 3 billion from them.
The United Arab Emirates has made significant investments in promoting sustainable finance across all sectors as a major global financial hub. Its national and green development objectives, such as the Dubai Finance Declaration on Sustainable Finance, the UAE Green Agenda 2015–30, the National Climate Change Plan 2017–50, and the recently unveiled Net Zero 2050 Strategic Initiative, all lay out the country’s sustainability road map.
The United Arab Emirates has made significant investments to promote sustainable finance across all industries, and both the Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) in Abu Dhabi and the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) in Dubai are doing more to support the growth of sustainable finance in the United Arab Emirates.
The commitment to sustainability is also a theme at Expo 2020 Dubai. Additionally, the United Arab Emirates participation in the Securities and Commodities Authority-led inhibitory postsynaptic potential (Ipscp) World Investor Week places a strong emphasis on sustainability.