green bonds

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By Paul Davies and Michael Green

The Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, Jonathan Taylor called for “a renewed effort from the world’s financial institutions to make the Paris Agreement a reality” at the COP 22 Conference, held last month in Marrakesh.

Green finance will have an instrumental role to play in the transition of countries to a low carbon economy. Indeed, sovereign green bonds have been described by financial analysts as “the perfect financial vehicle” and “missing link” to enable signatories to finance their sustainable infrastructure.

There have been a number of notable developments in green finance in recent months, sustaining its momentum.

By Paul Davies and Andrew Westgate

Now in its eleventh year, The G20 Summit heads to the city of Hangzhou, China – the first time a G20 summit has been held for heads of state in China. As this years’ destination, China is maximising its role as the host nation to not only highlight its position as an economic superpower, but also to push for continued commitment to climate change and showcase its market-leading role in green finance.

In preparation for the summit, China has not only spruced-up its host city, but has cleaned up its skies. Chinese authorities implemented strict controls on factories operating in the provinces of Zhejiang (where Hangzhou is located), Jiangsu and the city of Shanghai, as part of its short-term air quality plan to ensure blue skies during the G20. As significant industrial centres, the restrictions introduced impact global supply chains across various industries, yet such impact has not deterred the priority of air quality.

By Paul Davies and Aaron Franklin

China has become the world’s largest green bond market, with green bonds issued in the first half of 2016 reaching 75 billion yuan (US$11 billion), 33% of the world total. This figure is approximately two percent of the total assets of China’s commercial banks, and demand for green bonds is expected to rise to 20 times that much.

Green bonds provide access to an ever-growing and important market to corporate issuers and international investors. Bloomberg Business estimates that China’s green bond market may be worth US$230 billion in the next five years – an opportunity too big for the international business community to ignore.

By Aaron Franklin

Green Bonds have led a tremendous growth in environmental finance over the past five years, but that growth has been heavily-weighted towards investment grade credits with their accompanying risk/return.  The predominance of investment-grade credits partially results from the all-or-nothing approach of Green Bonds – the bond is either 100% green or 0% green.  The 100% green requirement shuts out many issuers seeking to finance environmentally-sustainable projects because a company needs to be sufficiently large and well-capitalized to…

By Paul Davies and Andrew Westgate

Green bonds, which tie the proceeds of the issuance to investments that have positive environmental and/or climate benefits, are a rapidly growing asset class. Recent figures have corroborated the narrative of growth predicted by industry experts.

In the first quarter of 2016, green bonds totalling US$17 billion were issued globally – three times the total amount issued in the same period in 2015, almost half of which are attributed to Chinese issuers. Banks continue to dominate issuances, but a recent corporate issuance shows the burgeoning development of the asset class.

Zhejiang Geely – perhaps best known in the UK as the owner of the London Taxi Company, manufacturer of London’s iconic black taxi cabs – recently issued US$400 million of green bonds. The funds will be used in part to develop green taxis in Europe, but also to fund electric vehicle design in Asia.

By Paul Davies and Andrew Westgate

China has launched a green bond pilot initiative via the Shanghai Stock Exchange, encouraging further foreign investment in a rapidly growing asset class and paving the way for issuances by non-financial institutions.

This initiative closely follows the publication of green bond guidelines in December 2015 by the National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors (NAFMII). The Shanghai green bond stock exchange initiative and the guidelines go hand-in-hand with China’s efforts to transition towards a green and low carbon economy.

By Cesare Milani and Alice Gunn

With US$100 billion of issuances anticipated by year end, the green bonds market is increasingly attracting the attention of corporations, supranational entities, multilateral banks, cities and municipalities seeking to raise capital for projects or investments with a positive environmental impact.

There was a threefold increase in green bond issuances in 2014 (compared to 2013) and, in 2015, the first high yield green bond offering in France by independent recycling company, Paprec Group, was further evidence of not only a growing market, but a maturing one.

For the market to continue to grow, however, there may be merit in clarifying the definition of green bonds.