The year's final blog: three wins in 2016 and three challenges for 2017

It’s almost Christmas and I have few last thoughts for you for the year:

In 2016 ….

  1. We’ve had a whopper year for green bonds: by international definitions we’re at USD 79bn of green bonds in 2016; $91.5bn if we include the USD 12.5bn of China green bonds. We’ve seen green covered bonds, green mortgage-backed securities, green Schuldschein, green loans.
  2. China’s G20 Presidency has made a big splash by promoting green finance and green bonds. Who would have thought we’d see Russia and Saudi Arabia signing off on official statements on green finance? Bravo China.
  3. And we’ve seen the first countries explicitly link green bond plans to the delivery of national climate change plans (”NDCs”). Yes, that is exactly the way we need to go – we want to see the 2017 UN Climate Change Conference be all about capital raising plans that deliver those NDCs.

In 2017 ….

  1. Temperatures in the Arctic Ocean are currently 20°C above normal, and has been for weeks. Ah, that’s a tough one to start with. In English we call that a “canary in the coal mine” - an early-warning signal of disaster. We are going to have to work a lot harder in 2017 to avert the catastrophe we’re heading towards.
  2. We at least know it will be the Year of Sovereign Green Bonds, with some nine countries talking about issuing (Poland was the first to issue, just two weeks ago). We think we’ll also see Green City Bonds mushroom in emerging markets, retail green bonds flourish in China, the US and Switzerland, and corporate green bonds pop up everywhere from Indonesia and Thailand to Argentina and Colombia. It’s going to be big.
  3. But will it be the year of incredibly ambitious green economic transition plans that we so desperately need to see? Vast mass transit systems; vast clean energy investments; and vast water infrastructure plans?

Well, China has started, and India too; more will follow. And we know we have more than enough capital, in fact more capital on the planet than ever before in history; that investors actually want green; and that rich world interest rates, despite some Trumpian speed bumps, remain the lowest recorded in history. Wow, doesn't that sound like the perfect time to green the world’s economy?

To energize this discussion we’re holding, on 6 March 2017, a Climate Bonds Conference, plus Green Bond Pioneer Awards – and we hope you can join us. It’ll be at the City of London’s gorgeous Guildhall. Just let me know if you can come.