AIB has set "ambitious" carbon reduction targets for c.€43.5bn of customer loans representing 75% of its lending portfolio.

The bank has set a target of reducing emissions intensity by 58% per square metre on homes funded by €29.4bn of residential mortgages, and 67% per square metre on commercial real estate funded by €5.6bn in loans.

AIB's electricity generation portfolio is primarily comprised of renewable energy assets such as offshore wind and has a low level of related emissions.

Business areas in the bank will also be required to support the delivery of new Financed Emission Targets by ensuring appropriate products and services, education, and training to support customers transitioning to a lower carbon future.

"Tackling climate change is the major challenge facing our generation," said Mary Whitelaw, chief sustainability and corporate affairs officer at AIB.

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"We firmly believe that enabling our customers to lower their carbon footprint over the short, medium and long term is a priority that can only be achieved through major investment in energy and climate action infrastructure."

Green lending by AIB grew 65% to €3.3bn in 2022 and accounted for 26% of all new lending, while green mortgages now make up 27% of mortgage lending by the bank.

"We are now further aligning ourselves with the global sustainability agenda by pledging to do more to ensure that 70% of our new lending will be green or transition by 2030," Whitelaw added. 

AIB last year introduced discounted loans for residential developers adhering to a new Irish Green Building Council benchmark that exceeds requirements under current building regulations, and the bank also enhanced its green personal loans.

Since 2019, it has offered discounted mortgage rates for customers purchasing homes with a BER energy rating of B3 or higher.

AIB's 2022 sustainability report had set a target of providing €800m in finance for social housing by the end of 2024 with €437m already allocated.

Photo: Mary Whitelaw. (Pic: AIB)