Emirates NBD has launched the United Arab Emirates’ first dedicated Transition Finance Framework, establishing a structured methodology to support corporate and institutional clients in high-emitting and hard-to-abate sectors as they transition towards low-carbon business models.
The framework provides clear criteria for identifying and labelling transition finance activities across capital-intensive industries, including power and energy, manufacturing, mining, real estate, transportation, agriculture, and information technology.
Designed in reference to global benchmarks—such as the ICMA Climate Transition Finance Handbook, the ICMA Climate Transition Bond Guidelines 2025, and the Loan Market Association Guide to Transition Loan Finance 2025—the initiative targets companies taking credible steps to reduce emissions, even if their core operations do not yet meet traditional “green” classification standards. Independent verification firm DNV Assurance provided a Second Party Opinion to confirm market alignment.
Highlighting the strategic importance of the launch, Vijay Bains, Chief Sustainability Officer and Group Head of ESG at Emirates NBD, stated that the bank’s goal was to empower clients with robust, transparent, and innovative transition finance solutions. He explained that the new framework expanded their established Sustainable Finance and Sustainability-Linked Loan Financing Bond Frameworks, ensuring the institution was fully equipped to support the real economy transition across the UAE and the wider region.
The initiative supports Emirates NBD’s commitment to mobilise $30bn in sustainable finance by 2030, contributing directly to the UAE Banking Federation’s broader goal of mobilising AED 1 trillion in sustainable finance over the same period.
