We welcome three new members to our stellar expert panel:
Abu Dhabi is indeed a crazy place: gold-leaf covered 7 star hotels surrounded by desal-water fed green lawns and endless freeways in a hot hot hot and dry land.
Abu Dhabi has been (generously) hosting the 2 day “UN Ascent” preparatory meeting for September’s UN Climate Summit. Lots of governments here and a bunch of others working on Summit components, like me.
There’s been a lot of discussion about green bonds or “green climate bonds”. As World Bank VP Rachel Kyte said “Green Bonds are the biggest climate finance story around today”.
Rachel also inadvertently broke the news of our new Green City Bonds project, to be launched at the UN Climate Summit. Info to follow.
Financial News – ‘It's not easy being green’ - Edward Russell-Walling
Article talks about lack of regulations concerning what qualifies as ‘green’ in the context of 9 more banks backing the Green Bond Principles.
According to SeeNews, Hong Kong-based Jun Yang Solar Power Investments yesterday issued a HKD 190 million (USD 24.5m/EUR 17.7m) bond. The bond was placed with at least six investors.
Because the company is a "pureplay" solar company, making thin-film PV modules and developing solar projects, we include this in our broad "bonds and climate change" universe.
The World Bank last week issued its first 'Kangaroo' Green Bond (yes, that is really is the financial markets term!): AUD300m ($280m), 5yrs, AAA. This is the first AUD benchmark green bond. Proceeds are used to fund climate change related projects. Price was 20 basis points over swaps - the same as other World Bank Kangaroo bonds.
BankTrack is a global network of civil society groups tracking the operations and investments of commercial banks and "their effect on people and the planet".
This week they published a letter to the Green Bond Principles signatory banks, giving a cautious welcome to the Principles, but saying that the lack of clarity over what projects can be considered "green" risked setting the project up to fail.
The Green Bond Principles were published by 13 banks in January this year to encourage transparency, disclosure, and integrity in the Green Bond market. (We expressed our support for the initiative as a useful step to drive the market forward.)
Swedish company Arise Windpower has just announced the successful issuance of a SEK1bn ($167m) 5 year green bond linked to wind farms. Interest rate was set at 3% above STIBOR (the Stockholm Interbank Offered Rate).
Arise indicated that investor interest was 'strong', partly due to the green stamp on the bond.
This is the first senior secured bond issue in Sweden in the wind power sector. DNB Markets was the sole bookrunner. DNV GL also provided a second opinion on the bond. All good.
Île-de-France is the regional government that Paris sits within. Yesterday they issued their second green muni bond, which they are calling a Green & Sustainability Bond, to finance an eclectic mix of green investments. The first green bond they did was for EUR350 million; this one is EUR600 million, again for 12 years. Rating is AA/AA+ (stable/stable, S&P/Fitch).
A beautifully sunny day in Toronto today; the local weather's looking good for green bonds as well.
Nearly two weeks we blogged that TD Bank had become Canada's second "labelled" green bond issuer, with a CAD500 million, 3 year, fixed interest corporate green bond. Here's the review:
