São Paulo: Climate Bonds Certification, Green Taxonomy and Sector Criteria in the spotlight
Brazilian Verifiers gathered last week at Felsberg Advogados in São Paulo to discuss new trends and opportunities within the green bond market. Matteo Bigoni, Climate Bonds new Head of Certification, led the Roundtable outlining key features of Climate Bonds Standard Certification Framework, Taxonomy and Sector Criteria.
Connecting, knowledge sharing and technical exchange was the objective, with a diverse group discussing the role of Verification in the Certification process.
The International Green Bond Market Trends and Opportunities – Advisors Roundtable, held later in the day, gathering representatives from the biggest law firms in Brazil, specialists from Climate Bonds Initiative, London Stock Exchange (LSEG) and Marsh, for an overview of the opportunities in the global green market, evaluated at USD1.45 trillion.
The event aimed to provide an opportunity for Brazilian legal practitioners to gain familiarity around the process of green bond issuance, address areas of doubt and provide an insight on the market’s potential and its mitigation impact on climate change. Among the topics discussed were de-risking structures for Project Finance and LSEG’s Green Finance Offering.
Who’s saying what?
Alex Vervuut, Brazil Verifier, Bureau Veritas:
“This is a great initiative from Climate Bonds. Working with Verifiers in Brazil and providing an excellent level of assurance for the work that we are performing with local issuers. This will improve the whole domestic market for green bonds.”
André Dabus, Director for Infrastructure, Power and Utilities, Marsh:
“When we talk about green bonds it is important to keep in mind that every model of development and/or management of risk should be addressed prior to issuing green bonds. This is key in order to protect both investors and funders interests. This was a great initiative from Climate Bonds in Brazil and I hope we get to meet again in the future.”
Matteo Bigoni, Head of Certification, Climate Bonds Initiative:
“The primary goal of the Verifiers Training is to ensure a shared understanding of the structure around the Sector Criteria, the process of becoming an approved verifier and what it means for the process of providing assurance services.”
Thatyanne Gasparotto, Head of Latin America, Climate Bonds Initiative:
“We’ve gathered many of the key players in the green bond issuance process. Providing training to Approved Verifiers in the Latin American market, joined with legal and financial advisors to supply an overview of the developments of the green bond market. These joint initiatives are an invaluable part of capacity building and support for stakeholders who will be integral to building robust green financial markets."
The last word
2019 will be a year to strengthen relations with Verifiers and intermediaries as they play a major role in the process of issuing green bonds.
Qualified Verifiers are integral to assurance processes for both investors looking to optimise their capital and issuers looking to maximise market opportunities.
Legal and financial advisors have an interest in best practice frameworks when structuring new green deals.
Our thanks to Bureau Veritas, Marsh and LSEG, and our hosts Felberg Advogados.
Stay tuned as more training and development work is scheduled for 2019 in Brazil.
'Till next time,
Climate Bonds
