The United Nations Foundation and the Ceres Investor Network on Climate Risk (a Climate Bond Standards Board member) held an Investor Summit at the United Nations in New York. Climate Bonds and Green Bonds were top of the agenda.
One of the speakers was the UN’s top climate change official, Christiana Figueres, and she was very direct. See her press conference here (Christiana is at the 15 minute point).
Today, AAA-rated World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) launched a USD 550mn 18-month floating-rate World Bank Green Bond.
NEW YORK – The International Climate Bond Standards Board today welcomed the release yesterday of the Green Bond Principles by a consortium of international banks led by Citi, JP Morgan, Bank of America Merrill Lynch and Credit Agricole.
We blogged the draft version a few months ago; at that stage it was just Citi and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Things have moved forward and yesterday a more developed version was published. Now there are 13 banks involved, with JP Morgan and Credit Agricole joining the first two in the driver's seat.
This is a big development; and with even more banks expected to now sign up to the Principles they are likely to have a major impact on development of the market.
Today, the EIB (AAA) announced that is has re-opened its EUR denominated Climate Awareness Bond for a further EUR350mn ($478mn) tap bringing the total size of the bond to EUR1.5bn or just over $2bn. This makes it the largest climate/green bond currently outstanding. The tap was timed with the publication of the Green Bonds Principles by major banks.
LONDON – The Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change (IIGCC), which represents more than 85 of Europe’s largest investors with total funds under management of approximately EUR7.5 trillion, has today joined the International Climate Bond Standards Board. The Standards Board is supervising a program to provide investors and governments an easy way to assess the integrity of environmental claims for green bonds. Eric Borremans, IIGCC Vice Chairman and sustainability expert at Pictet Asset Management, will represent the IIGCC on the Climate Bond Standards Board.
We’re 10 days into the New Year and the first green bond is already out – the European Investment Bank has just announced the release of its latest Climate Awareness bond, a CHF350 bond (USD386bn). Lead managers were Barclays, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank and the coupon is 1.625%.
As a boy who grew up in the South Pacific, the idea of going to meetings in sophisticated Paris still gives me a thrill. So imagine how excited I get when we're hosting an event there - well, to be precise co-hosting, with our friends at KeplerCheuvreux and 2 Degree Investing.
You're invited!
It's on Tuesday 28 January 2014, from 14:00 to 17:45pm. Venue is the 'Auditorium FNCA' at 48-50 Rue de la Boétie, 75008 Paris, France.
It's a star-studded line-up. And it's free - although if we run out of seats priority will be given to asset owners and fund managers.
The first half, 14:00-15:30, is on "New Dynamics for Integrating Sustainability in Fixed Income" (It does sound better in French).
The Climate Bonds Standard has established a Low-Carbon Transport Working Group to develop eligibility criteria for the certification of low-carbon transport related bonds – a means to enhance private investors’ confidence in financing the low-carbon economy.
