QNB Group, a large financial institution in the Middle East and Africa has now become the first bank in Qatar to join the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF).
This membership reflects QNB Group’s commitment to combating climate change as part of its strategic focus on sustainability. The partnership with PCAF further enables the Bank’s support of the State of Qatar’s ratification of the Paris Agreement and its Nationally Determined Contributions.
PCAF membership facilitates the Bank’s measurement of greenhouse gas emissions arising from its loans and investments, ensuring greater transparency and accountability of the Bank’s environmental impact. PCAF supports this effort by setting the standard, providing guidance, building capacity, and providing technical support and access to an emission-factor database.
The PCAF is a collaboration between financial institutions worldwide to enable harmonized assessments and disclosures of greenhouse gas emissions financed by loans and investments. With approximately 500 financial institutions from six continents, the group is rapidly expanding in North America, Latin America, Europe, Africa and Asia-Pacific.
Fatima Abdulla Al-Suwaidi, QNB Group Chief Risk Officer commented on this significant milestone. “We are proud to be the first bank in Qatar to join PCAF and to be joining a global group of financial institutions committed to disclosing the greenhouse gas emissions of their financial activities. We consider this an important milestone, which will underpin our approach to future disclosures, and climate-related target setting. QNB will partner with PCAF to promote the use of consistent, industry best practice standards in support of the sustainability agenda to which we are committed.”
The Bank is a regional Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) leader and domestic champion, pioneering sustainable financing and ESG initiatives recognized through numerous international awards and accolades. QNB continues to hold the top ESG ratings amongst banks in the GCC region.