QNB Group published its 2024 Sustainability Report on 4 February 2026, disclosing that the Qatari banking group maintained USD 9 billion in direct sustainable financing during 2024 and became the first bank in the Middle East and North Africa region to fully adopt the ISSB's IFRS S1 and S2 disclosure standards, using its FY2024 financials as the reporting basis. The report places QNB at the forefront of sustainable finance disclosure among its regional peers.
The ISSB standards — IFRS S1, which covers general sustainability-related financial disclosures, and IFRS S2, which addresses climate-related risks and opportunities — represent the global baseline framework developed by the International Sustainability Standards Board to bring consistency and comparability to corporate sustainability reporting. Their adoption by a Gulf Cooperation Council institution using live financial data marks a significant milestone for the region's engagement with international ESG disclosure norms.
RENEWABLE ENERGY AND EMISSIONS COVERAGE LEAD REGION
QNB said in the report that 100% of its key operations were powered by renewable energy, a commitment that positions the bank ahead of many of its regional and global banking peers on the operational emissions front. The group also reported that coverage of Scope 3 financed emissions — the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the loans and investments in QNB's portfolio — exceeded 90% of the portfolio, a level of measurement completeness that is notable even by the standards of European and North American banks.
Scope 3 financed emissions are widely regarded as the most material and most difficult-to-measure component of a financial institution's carbon footprint, given their dependence on data from thousands of corporate and individual borrowers. A coverage rate above 90% indicates that QNB has developed robust methodologies for collecting and estimating emissions data across the vast majority of its lending book, a capability that underpins the credibility of the group's transition finance commitments.
The USD 9 billion in direct sustainable financing maintained through 2024 encompasses green and sustainability-linked loans, bonds, and other instruments directed towards projects and activities that meet defined environmental or social criteria. Sustaining that volume across a full financial year demonstrates the operational infrastructure — in origination, structuring, and monitoring — that QNB has built to service demand for sustainable finance products from its corporate, government, and institutional client base.
ISSB ADOPTION SETS REGIONAL DISCLOSURE BENCHMARK
The adoption of ISSB standards ahead of peer institutions in MENA gives QNB a first-mover advantage in demonstrating to international investors and counterparties that its sustainability disclosures meet globally recognised criteria. As investor demand for standardised, auditable climate and sustainability data grows, early compliance with ISSB requirements can influence credit ratings, access to green capital markets, and the terms on which correspondent banking relationships are maintained.
QNB Group is the largest bank in the Middle East and Africa by assets, giving its sustainability reporting choices an outsized influence on regional norms. Other MENA banking groups may face increased investor and regulatory pressure to align their own disclosures with ISSB standards following QNB's adoption, particularly as the UAE and Saudi Arabia advance their own sustainable finance regulatory frameworks in connection with their respective net-zero commitments.
The 2024 Sustainability Report represents the most comprehensive disclosure QNB has produced to date and sets a new baseline against which the group's future performance on sustainable financing volumes, emissions coverage, and renewable energy use will be measured by investors, analysts, and the ECB-equivalent supervisory bodies across the markets in which QNB operates.