Climate Bonds Blog

Posted: Jan 30, 2015

The major story this week is the huge high-yield green bond from the yieldco TerraForm Power Operating; seeing more high-yield bonds is a sign that the green bond market is continuing to mature. In addition to TerraForm, more green bonds from repeat issuers OPIC, World Bank, IFC and Credit Agricole have been announced and will be closing in the coming weeks. For today, let’s dig deeper into the latest green high-yield offering.

Weekly update: TerraForm Power Operating issues largest green bond of 2015 so far - US$800m - for wind and solar, and it’s high yield (5.875%, B1/BB-, 8-yr)
Posted: Jan 29, 2015

 

Serge Martin is a Canadian philanthropist and founder of SOFINOV, a venture capital fund of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, the largest pension fund in Canada. In 2002, SOFINOV had assets of CA$1.9 billion with an annual compound return of 24.2% since its launch in 1995.

Serge has made a philanthropic commitment of funding of CA$100,000 to support the work of the Climate Bonds Initiative.

Climate Bonds Partner Serge Martin makes CA$100,000 commitment to “turbo-charge” Climate Bonds Initiative
Posted: Jan 27, 2015

We are looking for an energetic Program officer to join our Central London team to coordinate the rapid development of the Climate Bond Standard and Certification Scheme.

The role will involve working with investments banks and potential climate bonds issuers on Climate Bond certifications, consulting with other stakeholders, improving and streamlining>verification processes, training for verifiers, as well as communications of all sorts.

Climate Bonds is recruiting: London-based Standards Program Officer
Posted: Jan 27, 2015

By Ulf Erlandsson, Senior Portfolio Manager Credit, Global Macro Trading, Fjärde AP-fonden/ Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund and Sean Kidney, CEO Climate Bonds Initiative.

Originally published in Institutional Investor 29.12.2014

Ruminations on harnesssing the power of the bond market for green: mainstreaming vs niche funds, benefits of secondary market, role of govt
Posted: Jan 22, 2015

Before diving into the latest green bond offerings let’s not forget that green bonds were created because no challenge poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change” (thanks to President Obama for the eloquent statement). Shifting capital to climate investments through green bonds is one way of addressing the challenge.

Weekly update: Supra’s continue to build market by providing liquidity + depth; EIB taps further EUR250m ($298m), 1.25%, AAA; World Bank issues INR348.5m ($5.7m) Uridashi green bonds, 4.2%, AAA, 5 yr
Posted: Jan 21, 2015

Today, I’ve been speaking at the World Future Energy Summit in Abu Dhabi about the potential for green sukuk. A few years ago, if I had said “energy investment” and “the Middle East” in the same sentence, your thoughts would probably spin to oil and gas rather than solar and wind. But there are now some huge renewable energy developments and plans around. (Of course the rationale may be to save more oil for export, but that’s OK – we’re best to fight that fight at the demand side.)

Talking green sukuk at World Future Energy Summit @AbuDhabi: race is on for 1st issuer. Concept marries rapidly growing Islamic finance market with surging green bond market
Posted: Jan 20, 2015

EY (formerly known as Ernst & Young), one of the world’s largest audit firms and the third largest professional services firm in the world (by revenue), has been confirmed by the Climate Bond Standards Board as an approved Climate Bond Standards verifier. EY has 700 offices in over 150 countries.

EY confirmed as an approved Climate Bond Standards verifier
Posted: Jan 19, 2015

‘The green bonds market spreads its wings across the globe’, ‘Explosive growth!’, ‘Green bonds enter the game as star players!’ – that’s how some of the journalists described the exciting growth of the green bonds market in 2014. After the impressive year, everyone wonders if ‘the breakneck speed of expansion’ will continue.

There was a lot of media interest around the Australian first Climate Bond Certified bond from the National Australia Bank (NAB) and the first-ever public green bonds list.
 

Dec 2014 media digest: Institutional Investor, Reuters, Business News Network and more.
Posted: Jan 15, 2015

Morgan Stanley (MS) tops the Q4 underwriter league table, making $1.1bn of green bond deals during the quarter, with JP Morgan following closely in second place with $887m of deals. Both were carried over the line by big municipal green bonds, which pushed them ahead of staunch rivals Bank of America Merrill Lynch (BAML) and Citi, who come in third ($763m) and fourth ($756m) respectively.

SEB tops annual Green Bond Underwriters League Table – by a whisker, but Q4 results have Morgan Stanley & JP Morgan on top. Plus we set banks underwriting targets for 2015. Cheeky, yes, but someone has to push them.
Posted: Jan 15, 2015

Tomorrow, Sean Kidney (Climate Bonds Initiative), Ben Powell (IFC), Björn Lindström (Vasakronan) and Christoffer Flensburg (SEB) will talk green bonds at a seminar in Stockholm organised by Swesif.

Issuers - IFC and Vasakronan – will give a first-hand report of their experiences with benefits of issuing a green bond compared to an ordinary bond; the processes to ensure the green credentials of their bonds, and the types of projects they financed with the proceeds. 

Green bonds seminar in Stockholm tomorrow - speakers from Climate Bonds Initiative, IFC, Vasakronan, SEB and Swesif - and a workshop on green bonds for Swedish cities; kicking off 2015 as the year of the green muni bond