Rabobank a key funder for Dutch geothermal development efforts

Rabobank in the Netherlands (source: flickr/ ibm_research_zurich, creative commons)

Last week, Dutch bank Rabobank published its first climate report titled ‘Rabobank and Climate Change – Making the change to safeguard our future’. With this publication Rabobank sets out its climate strategy in detail to the general public.

The publication shares the bank’s approach and the progress made so far, while listing the bank’s goals for the future. It provides an overview of our commitment and the actions we have already taken – in our portfolio, network deployment and partnerships – as well as the actions that we have planned for the future to sustainably grow our business. We focus on the most substantial parts of our portfolio: mortgages, food and agribusiness and our SME clients in the Netherlands. It includes our current emissions overview, client solutions, targets and transparency on (one of) the most urgent societal challenges we face: climate change.

The bank has been a strong player in e.g. the seafood sector internationally, but has also a strong commitment in geothermal in the Netherlands, seeing its support of the energy transition as an important element of its activities.

According to the report, Rabobank has financed about 90% of Dutch geothermal heating projects, with an exposure of more than EUR 200 million.

The bank describes geothermal activities as part of climate-related products and services.

“Local energy cooperatives generate energy on a small scale, for example with the help of solar panels, biomass, geothermal energy or their own wind turbine. These initiatives fit very well with the cooperative, decentralized structure of Rabobank and we encourage our clients to take these initiatives forward.”

Developments in geothermal energy are also continuing. The horticulture sector in the Netherlands’ Westland is a pioneer in geothermal energy. As a major financier in the food and agribusiness sector, Rabobank is involved in 90% of the Dutch geothermal heating projects.

Source: Rabobank