According to the International Energy Agency (IEA), the transport sector is responsible for 23% of all energy-related CO2 emissions globally and 13% of total GHG emissions. Shifting to low-carbon transport is essential for climate change mitigation; but what should and shouldn't be called "low-carbon" is not always clear.
Climate Bonds Blog
Posted: May 13, 2014
Green definitions for transport: Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) eligibility criteria under Climate Bonds Standard out for public comment
Posted: May 13, 2014
Mark Burrows is the Executive Vice Chairman & Managing Director, Asia Pacific, Credit Suisse Investment Bank. He's also passionate about protecting forests and about climate change.
On Monday, in a speech to the Forests Asia Summit in Jakarta, he talked at length about green bonds, and we loved every word of it!
I want to talk to you about bonds, and specifically about green bonds.
Bonds are attractive for many reasons; they are a familiar product to the investment community and they represent the single largest pool of capital in the world. The key question today is how would these benefit our forests?
In Jakarta, Credit Suisse AsiaPac Vice Chair calls for green bond standards & certification, incentives and a green growth narrative. Go!
Posted: May 12, 2014
I’m in Seoul, in a vast room for the 2014 Clean Energy Ministerial roundtable, surrounded by men in dark suits – only a sprinkling of women – listening to the IEA’s Maria van der Hoeven give a rock star speech about the State of Climate Change.
It’s not good news: the growth of coal-fired power growth since 2008 has beaten the growth of renewable energy. The relentless increase in use of fossil fuels in developing markets has wiped out any gains we’ve made with clean energy in developed countries. Errrk.
Seoul update: IEA reads riot act to clean energy ministers / BNEF says there is a some hope / Korea tech's 10 breakthroughs leave us on the up
Posted: May 6, 2014
We welcome three new members to our stellar expert panel:
- Danang Parikesit is a leading transportation expert in Asia, President of the Indonesian Transport Society, Professor of Transportation at Universitas Gadjah Mada anda transport policy advisor to the Indonesian Government.
- Carol Lee Rawn is Director of the Transportation Program at Ceres, a Boston-based NGO.
- Nick Owen is principal consultant at E4 tech transport consultants in London.
3 new members for Standards low-carbon transport expert group: Prof Danang Parikesit from Indonesia; Nick Owen, E4 Tech in UK; Carol Lee Rawn from Ceres in USA. First eligibility criteria for rail, EVs & BRTs to be released next week for comment
Posted: May 5, 2014
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.
Update from Crazy Abu Dhabi: green bonds part of UN Climate Summit / Jeffrey Sachs lays out 7 Step Survival Plan / Ban Ki Moon's soft power
Posted: May 4, 2014
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.
A bunch of climate bond media stories for you: Financial News, Wall Street Journal, Enviro. Finance, Inst. Investor, etc
Posted: Apr 30, 2014
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.
HK's Jun Yang Solar issues HKD190m ($24.5m) convertible bond to expand PV power
Posted: Apr 22, 2014
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.
World Bank's first 'Kangaroo' green bond hops into Australian market: AUD300m ($280m), 5yrs. UniSuper jumps in as “lead green bond investor”, bringing others in. Now that’s a good idea for other markets! USS in the UK? ABP in Netherlands? CPP in Canada?
Posted: Apr 16, 2014
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.
Green Bond Principles: BankTrack & NGO group "cautiously welcome", but call for transparency, science-based criteria for 'green' & independent verification
Posted: Apr 16, 2014
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.)
Now it's 25! A dozen more banks sign on to "Green Bond Principles" + ICMA takes on Secretariat role. Can they make it 100 banks signed on by UN Climate Summit in Sept? Go on, Ban Ki Moon needs some good news.