Clifford Chance advises on Etihad’s billion-dollar sustainability-linked-loan

Clifford Chance has advised UAE flag carrier Etihad Aviation Group on the first sustainability-linked-loan (SLL) tied to environmental, social and governance (ESG) targets in global aviation. The transaction is the largest sustainable financing in the airline’s history.

It follows its first-of-a-kind sustainability-linked transition sukuk in 2020, which Clifford Chance also advised on. The ground-breaking SLL transaction has raised USD1.2 billion with loan terms tied to: reducing the intensity of the Etihad passenger fleet’s carbon emissions; advancing female participation and training at the Global Business Service Solutions centre; and the Integrity Score, a comprehensive measure implemented by Etihad to assess the overall internal culture of integrity at the airline.

The Clifford Chance team was led by Nicola Reader (partner, Abu Dhabi) with assistance from Andrew McAdam (senior associate, Dubai) and Vany Attarian (associate, Dubai).