Tomorrow, Sean Kidney (Climate Bonds Initiative), Ben Powell (IFC), Björn Lindström (Vasakronan) and Christoffer Flensburg (SEB) will talk green bonds at a seminar in Stockholm organised by Swesif.
Issuers - IFC and Vasakronan – will give a first-hand report of their experiences with benefits of issuing a green bond compared to an ordinary bond; the processes to ensure the green credentials of their bonds, and the types of projects they financed with the proceeds.
We'll also hear from SEB and the Climate Bonds Initiative on other topics such as the benefits for green bond investors, liquidity in the secondary market and the importance of 3rd party reviews.
It might be a relatively small country, but Sweden has long punched above their weight in the green bond market (check out our green bond list for a comprehensive list of Swedish green bonds): Sweden’s SEB was the underwriter of the first green bond with a second opinion back in 2007/2008, and continues to be a top performing underwriter. The city of Gothenburg was the first to issue a city-specific green muni bond in September 2013, which they followed with a repeat issuance in September 2014.
Green bonds from cities is the second reason for our venturing up to the dark and cold Scandinavia this week: it is one of the key topics on our 2015 green bonds agenda - what better way to kick-off this work than a workshop in the country where the market started? The aim is to over the coming year bring together cities and municipalities across Sweden (and the rest of Scandinavia) who are looking to finance climate investments at the city level to accelerate the growth Green City Bonds; including both veterans - such as Gothenburg, a confirmed participant - and first-timers. The more the merrier, so do let us know if you want to join the party!
