Climate Bonds Blog

Posted: Jan 25, 2014

The European Commission’s Directorate-General of Climate Action has commissioned a project to look at what Europe’s role should be in "shifting private finance towards climate-friendly Investments" – both within the EU and internationally.

As their brief says:

New Climate Bonds & friends project for European Commission’s Climate Directorate, looking at "Europe’s role in shifting private finance to climate investments", kicked off today in Brussels
Posted: Jan 23, 2014

OTTAWA - Export Development Canada (EDC) today issued it's first green bond. They received $300 million of orders within 15 minutes of opening the books, with $500 million of orders on the books before they stopped. Brilliant result!

 

EDC is Canada's export credit agency; the USD300 million bond is for "loans that will preserve, protect or remediate air, water or soil, or help mitigate climate change". Third party review was by CICERO, at the University of Oslo in Norway.

First new issuer of 2014! ExportDevCanada issues USD300m AAA green bond - sold out in 15 mins! / Reminder: Climate Bonds seminar in Paris on Tues. 120 people coming, but we still have seats
Posted: Jan 23, 2014

Media release

London 23 January 2014 - The Climate Bonds Initiative today released its Green Climate Bonds Underwriters League Table for 2013.

Some $10 billion of Green Climate Bonds were issued in 2013, the biggest year yet, and one which saw new issuers, investors and underwriters join the market.

Green Bond Underwriters League Table released for 2013, $10 billion - biggest issuance year yet, SEB, BoAML, Morgan Stanley, Credit Agricole and JP Morgan on top.
Posted: Jan 18, 2014

I spent Wednesday sitting in the hallowed halls of the United Nations in New York for the biennual 2014 UN Investor Summit on Climate Risk Summit, hosted by the UN Foundation and Ceres Investor Network on Climate Risk (a Climate Bond Standards Board member). This is the preeminent forum for global investors to discuss the implications of climate change for capital markets - investors representing $22 trillion of assets under management were in the room.

UN Investor Summit on Climate Risk in NY: Clean Trillion report launched - bonds galore
Posted: Jan 17, 2014

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).

Figueres @UN Investor Summit on Climate Risk: institutional investors who ignore climate risk face being seen as blatantly in breach of their fiduciary duty to their beneficial owners. The cat is out of the bag.
Posted: Jan 15, 2014

Today, AAA-rated World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development) launched a USD 550mn 18-month floating-rate World Bank Green Bond.

 

They keep coming... World Bank issues $550m short-dated green bond; with EIB takes 2014 "labelled" total to $1.3bn.
Posted: Jan 14, 2014

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.

2/2: Climate Bond Standards Board welcomes launch by 13 international banks of new Green Bond Principles. Important step towards standards-based market, esp. for corp green bonds
Posted: Jan 14, 2014

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.

1/2: Thirteen major banks issue “Green Bond Principles” to guide development of Green Bonds market. This is Big! Read media statement & full text here; Climate Bond Standards Board comment in next email
Posted: Jan 14, 2014

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.

 

EIB goes again: taps Nov 19 Climate Awareness Bond for a further EUR350mn ($478mn) = biggest green bond outstanding at EUR1.5bn ($2bn)!!
Posted: Jan 13, 2014

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.

Institutional Investor Group on Climate Change, representing EUR7.5 trillion of assets, joins Climate Bond Standards Board. Goal: to assure integrity of green claims for investors