Japan Airlines (JAL) has secured a transition-linked loan of ¥26.5bn with Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC) acting as the guarantor. JAL will utilise the funds to finance two new A350-900, with JBIC providing financial support.
Going ahead, the airline will continue to use this framework after 2023, in order to finance new and existing investments related to upgrading to more fuel-efficient aircraft A350 and 787, as set forth in its CO2 Reduction Targets and Initiatives by 2030.
In its medium-term business plan, JBIC said: “JBIC will address global issues toward realizing sustainable development for the global economy and society.”
JBIC provides financial support to private companies taking steps to address climate change, which is a common challenge for the international community, and to realize sustainable development and growth that balances economy, society, and environment.
The two companies will collaborate with each other in order to steadily promote efforts to realise JAL’s net zero CO2 emissions by 2050.
JAL has set Sustainability Performance Targets (SPTs) of CO2 emissions reduction in FY 2025 and FY 2030 during the borrowing period, as commitment toward net zero CO2 emission by 2050.
JAL states that it will continue to actively upgrade to the latest and fuel-efficient aircraft and accelerate its transition and efforts toward eventual decarbonisation in air transportation business by using the finance from the above framework and the Transition Bond Framework of February 2022. Also, JBIC will continue to actively provide financial support, together with private financial institutions, to private companies such as JAL that have decarbonisation initiatives, in order to address global issues toward realising sustainable development for the global economy.
A transition-linked loan is a form of financing that supports borrower companies that take action to reduce CO2 emissions in alignment with long-term strategy goals. Borrowers set targets aligned with the strategy, and the financial characteristics of the loan may vary depending on achievement of those targets.