Irish banking group AIB has announced the appointment of Paul Travers to the newly created role of Managing Director Climate Capital, with responsibility for driving the bank's expanded green lending activities with a focus on renewable energy companies and critical infrastructure projects across the Ireland, United Kingdom, Europe and North America.
The new appointment follows AIB's launch of a new three-year strategy, with an increased focus on greening the bank's loan portfolio, including through increasing its financing capacity for significant sustainable infrastructure projects. AIB announced in November that it will triple its Green Loans Climate Action Fund to €30 billion, and in January the bank launched its new Climate Capital segment, centralizing its infrastructure project financing activities. sustainable structures in the new unit.
AIB said Climate Capital will be the fastest growing part of the bank's loan portfolio.
AIB CEO Colin Hunt said:
“The appointment of a Managing Director of Climate Capital underlines the scale of our ambition to secure a greener future through major lending for energy infrastructure and climate action, both nationally and internationally. I am pleased to welcome Paul to the AIB Executive Committee and look forward to his support in delivering our new three-year strategy to further green our loan portfolio, building on our strong track record in project finance of critical infrastructure across Ireland, the UK, Europe and North America.''
Travers joined AIB six years ago as Head of Energy, Climate Action and Infrastructure. Before joining AIB, he was head of Macquarie Capital Ireland, a specialist infrastructure and renewable energy investor and one of the world's largest infrastructure asset managers.
AIB Climate Capital Managing Director Paul Travers said:
“The investment required to finance the global transition to a low-carbon economy is estimated by McKinsey at trillions of dollars per year by 2050, while Ireland's needs alone are estimated at c. 20 billion euros per year for the next decade. Banks have an important role to play in financing the transition and I look forward to helping implement AIB's €30 billion Climate Action Fund to support this global effort to protect our people, our planet and prosperity for generations to come.''
