CaixaBank, the first Spanish bank to adhere to the Pegasus Guidelines

Commitment with the environment

• The purpose of these guidelines is to develop a first-of-its-kind framework to enable banks to measure and disclose their aviation lending portfolios’ emissions in a consistent and comprehensive manner.
• CaixaBank is a leading financial institution in combating climate change, with various ties, such as its participation as a founding member of the Net-Zero Banking Alliance; its inclusion in the United Nations Collective Commitment to Climate Action; its adherence to the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures and its participation in the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking.

CaixaBank has become the first Spanish bank to adhere to the Pegasus Guidelines, the first voluntary climate-aligned finance framework for the aviation sector, designed to help banks independently measure and disclose the emissions intensity and/or climate alignment of their aviation lending portfolios compared to a 1.5°C scenario to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. With this adherence, the bank aims to become a trailblazer in supporting and accompanying the aviation sector in its transition towards a greener economy.

The Pegasus Guidelines, designed by RMI and shaped by a core working group of leading financial institutions, draw upon existing standards including those of the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) and the International Civil Aviation Organization’s Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (ICAO CORSIA). The framework is designed to be compatible with the Net-Zero Banking Alliance’s guidelines, to which CaixaBank aligns as one of the alliance’s founding members.

Similar to frameworks completed for steel (Sustainable Steel Principles), shipping (Poseidon Principles), and aluminum (Sustainable Aluminum Finance Framework), the financial institutions that adopt the Pegasus Guidelines will be equipped to:

• Perform a standardized assessment to calculate their portfolio emissions intensity and alignment with a 1.5°C scenario
• Use a consistent approach to accessing high-quality and credible data
• Disclose their aviation portfolio emissions intensity and/or alignment results annually for transparency, while keeping client information confidential

The aviation industry contributes 2.5% of global CO2 emissions and is the fastest growing transportation sector. The industry’s success in transitioning to a low-carbon economy will rely on a significant ramp up of sustainable aviation fuels (SAF), as well as further development of hydrogen and battery-electric propulsion and fleet modernization. Financial institutions can play an important role in supporting a range of solutions for the sector through financing the technologies, projects, and companies that can contribute to a zero-carbon future.

The aviation sector’s ability to reach net-zero emissions is dependent on driving progress across a set of key technology levers—some of which they have the ability to influence directly, and some of which will require collaboration across sectors and by policymakers. Underpinning the Pegasus Guidelines is an understanding that financial institutions and airlines must work together to foster solutions that can help the industry decarbonize, together with policymakers, customers, airports, fuel producers, and NGOs. Collaboration with banks, investors, and policymakers will be particularly important to accelerate the production of SAF—the most significant lever of decarbonization for the sector.

Leadership through partnerships and initiatives for the sustainability of the planet

This adherence is a step forward in CaixaBank’s efforts to be part of the most relevant alliances working on energy transition, comprising its participation, as a founding member, in the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, through which the banking sector commits to achieving zero net emissions by 2050 in line with the 1.5°C target; its inclusion in the United Nations Collective Commitment to Climate Action; and in the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures, the core goal of which is to increase the measures taken in response to climate-related financial risks and the reporting quality; its participation in the United Nations Principles for Responsible Banking, which are designed to guide banks in strategically aligning their business with development and sustainability goals at the international, regional and national levels, and its adherence to the Poseidon Principles, a framework developed under the auspices of the Global Maritime Forum for assessing and disseminating the climate alignment of maritime transport financing portfolios.

More on CaixaBank’s environment and climate strategy here.

About RMI

RMI, founded in 1982 as Rocky Mountain Institute, is an independent nonprofit that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut greenhouse gas emissions at least 50 percent by 2030. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; and Beijing. More information on RMI can be found at www.rmi.org or follow us on LinkedIn.