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NatWest earmarks £100 billion for sustainable finance by 2025

NatWest said it will offer 'green' mortgages with lower interest rates to customers buying homes with a better energy efficiency rating
NatWest said it will offer 'green' mortgages with lower interest rates to customers buying homes with a better energy efficiency rating

British lender NatWest is planning to increase lending linked to sustainable and climate-related finance to £100 billion by 2025.

The move comes ahead of global climate talks in Glasgow in November where countries will be pushed to accelerate efforts to fight climate change and transition to a lower-carbon economy.

NatWest said in a statement the money would be used across its business and includes offering "green" mortgages with lower interest rates to customers buying homes with a better energy efficiency rating.

Other uses for the money could include lending to projects that benefit the environment, such as renewable energy or electric vehicles, it said in a statement.

NatWest owns Ulster Bank here, which is in the middle of a phased withdrawal from the Irish market.

"This marks an acceleration in NatWest's ambition to support UK decarbonisation and the Government’s Net Zero Strategy," the company said, referring to the UK's aim to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century.

In the first half of 2021, NatWest said it had met its full year target of providing £20 billion in climate and sustainable funding and financing six months early.