January’s Best: Swedbank Partners: Ontario Issues: Mexico Meets: Cali Treasurer Reports: Alpha Trains Roll & Our Big Standards Newsletter

January has kicked off with a stream of green finance developments and announcements stretching from Europe to China.

It’s been a busy start to the year, here’s some of January's best green bond stories you won’t want to miss. 

 

 

Sweden’s Oldest Bank Joins Partners Programme

Leading European bank Swedbank AB is the latest Scandinavian financial organisation to join our Climate Bonds Partners Program. Domiciled in Sweden, bank operations are centred across the Nordic region and Baltic States.

 

Marika Dimming, Head of Green Bonds at Swedbank puts their view:

Climate change is amongst society’s greatest challenges, and research shows that an increased concentration of greenhouse gases is warming the planet, with the potential to create substantial risks to both prosperity and growth.“

“Now is the time to act, and becoming a Climate Bonds Partner gives us an opportunity to do our part.”

You can read more about Swedbank’s commitment to sustainability and climate action here and the full announcement here.

 

 

Ontario Issues Third & Canada’s Biggest Green Bond 

Canada’s largest province has just announced its third green bond with a C800m (USD 610m) issuance, the biggest in Canada to date.

Readers with sharp memories will recall Premier Kathleen Wynne announcing their intentions way back in October 2013, with first issuance in late 2014 and second in January 2016.

This 2017 bond was foreshadowed by Yvan Baker MPP, at the October 2016 launch of the Canada State of the Market Report 2016, jointly produced by the Smart Prosperity Institute and Climate Bonds.

As our 2016 Canada Report reflected; we think Canada has huge potential for green bonds at both a provincial and sovereign level.

There’s more here on this big Ontario bond and check out the eligible projects listed in this mid-January presentation from the Ontario Financing Authority.

 

 

California Goes Forward on Green Bonds & Infrastructure   

Treasurer of America’s largest state John Chiang, is forging ahead on climate finance with the release of Growing the US Green Bond Market Vol 1, prepared in part from interviews with major market participants across the US.

How to fund climate resilient infrastructure is the focus: new green buildings, low carbon transport networks, smart energy grids and clean water systems, not just in the Golden State, but across the US.

The USD 240m SFPUC Climate Certified Water Bond from 2016 is an example of what’s possible as are the certified green bonds on the east coast from NY MTA and NY State Housing Authority

California is also not acquiescing to the new atmosphere of climate denial at the federal level, as this feisty media release reflects.

 

A quick look at this 19m.29s Facebook clip of Chiang’s keynote address to the 15th annual Cleantech Forum in San Francisco confirms his views on the need for green finance and climate action. 

You can find the report here, and for US readers, don’t forget to register for the Treasurer’s forthcoming Green Bonds Symposium to be held in the Fall.  

Well done, Mr. Chiang!

PS: California Deputy Treasurer Alan Gordon is slated to speak at Climate Bonds Annual Conference in London on March 6th. Find out more here

 

 

Mexican Climate Finance Council Fires Up  

Meanwhile, south of the Rio Grande, the Mexico Advisory Council on Climate Finance (CCFC) has held its first meeting for 2017.  

A joint project of Climate Bonds Initiative and the Mexican Stock Exchange (BMV) with Co-Presidency shared between major investment and pension managers Afore Sura and Afore XXI Banorte, the CCFC has broad representation from domestic finance sector stakeholders and a big agenda to develop green finance in Mexico.

Three working groups have been now been formed to develop:

  • Public policy,
  • Mexican market standards and
  • Market education.

We also understand some new bonds in both Pesos and USD are in the pipeline for issuance over the next six to eight months (!).

 

If your Spanish is good, this El Economista Mexico City interview with CEO Sean Kidney provides some views on where green finance could develop in LATAM.

He highlights the possibilities for Mexico partnering with US states like California, New York, Illinois, and Massachusetts to develop regional compacts around sustainable investment and push forward on climate action plans.  

An intriguing proposition.

Meantime make a note in your diary for the inaugural annual conference of the CCFC to be held on March 16th 2017.  

Contact Eduardo Piquero at our local partner Mexico2 for details.

 

 

France Kicks off in Year of the Sovereign Bond 

What’s left to say? Poland issued the world's first sovereign green bond late last year.

Now France has followed up in second place with a whopping EUR 7bn (USD 7.5bn) issuance, maturing in 2039.

You can read the announcement and read a couple of the many stories here and here.

Or for simplicity you can watch this short clip of Minister for the Environment  Energy and Marine Affairs Segolene Royale on the floor of the National Assembly responding to a question on French green finance policy. (1m.58s).

We have some analysis in our first Market Blog for 2016, due out late this week. 

 

 

Alpha Trains and New Rolling Stock

We like this Alpha Trains Certified Climate Bond, a world first!

It stands out from the clean energy, water, low carbon buildings and energy efficiency bonds we’re all now familiar with.  

Alpha Trains, based in Luxembourg, is Europe’s largest private lessor of rolling stock, including passenger trains and locomotives used by operators in 13 European countries.

The EUR 250m US private placement has been exclusively used to refinance debt associated with the acquisition of 63 modern energy efficient and environmental friendly electric passenger trains.

Train buffs can read background details on the environmental design features of the new rolling stock here.

The rest of us can hope one day we get to ride on the greenest trains in Europe.  

Toot-Toot! 

 

 

Our Biggest January Newsletter

As a final item, take a quick look at our latest Standards Newsletter released just last week.  

You can find an update on the newly launched Standard V2.1, who the big Certified Climate Bond issuers from last quarter are and a glance forward into 2017.

There’s lots more, download a copy here

 

 

 

 

 

Next round up later in February folks.

 

'Till then, 

Climate Bonds

 

 

Disclosure: John Chiang from the California State Treasurers Office is a member of the Climate Bonds Standards Advisory Board*, represented By Deputy Treasurer Alan Gordon.

*Disclosure: The CBSAB is an Advisory Committee to the Climate Bonds Board.

 
 

Disclaimer: The information contained in this communication does not constitute investment advice and the Climate Bonds Initiative is not an investment adviser. Links to external websites are for information purposes only. The Climate Bonds Initiative accepts no responsibility for content on external websites.

The Climate Bonds Initiative is not advising on the merits or otherwise of any investment. A decision to invest in anything is solely yours. The Climate Bonds Initiative accepts no liability of any kind for investments any individual or organisation makes, nor for investments made by third parties on behalf of an individual or organisation.