By Bridget Boulle and Sean Kidney
Climate Bonds Blog
Posted: Jun 22, 2014
NY State Enviro Facilities Corp issues $213m, 25/30yrs, AAA water bond, opens up a big question: is clean water by default 'green'? What about climate change, energy? Phew, NY has a good plan!
Posted: Jun 22, 2014
By Bridget Boulle and Rozalia Walencik
Last week Vornado Realty (BBB) became the second US real estate investment trust to issue a corporate green bond, following the Regency Centres bond late last month. The 5 year, $450 million bond was structured by Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Pricing was in line with non-green bonds.
Vornado Realty $450m, 5yr, BBB, green property bond kicks along US market; but we need more ambition to help fix climate
Posted: Jun 19, 2014
London: the Climate Bonds Green Property Working Group of international experts today published their proposed rules as to what buildings can be used to issue Certified Climate Bonds. Climate Bonds and Green Bonds are where the bond proceeds go to assets important to addressing climate change. The new rules will help investors better understand the low carbon integrity of green building investments. They are part of the Climate Bonds Standard, a FairTrade-like labelling scheme for bonds.
Green Property definitions for the Climate Bond Standards out for comment. Involves market specific benchmarks, esp. useful for property portfolios in big cities, driving $150bn p.a. mkt
Posted: Jun 18, 2014
The bond will be used to support climate-friendly investments in emerging markets.
It's the first green bond issued by a multilateral institution in the offshore Chinese markets. The bond, which yields 2%, saw demand from investors in Asia and Europe. HSBC is the sole lead manager for the bond.
http://ifcext.ifc.org/ifcext/pressroom/IFCPressRoom.nsf/0/FC77F4FC845140...
http://www.ftadviser.com/2014/06/17/investments/fixed-income/renminbi-de...
IFC issues RMB500m ($47m) green bond for climate investments. FT calls it "another step forward in internationalising China's currency"
Posted: Jun 15, 2014
China's CGN Wind has issued a one billion yuan, five year bond to finance wind energy developments in Inner Mongolia, Guangdong, Xinjiang and Gansu. Unusually, the interest rate uses a combination of "fixed rate + floating rate", with the floating rate tied to China Certified Emission Reduction (CCER). They called it a “carbon bond”.
China’s CGN Wind issues RMB1bn ($161m) 5yr green bond with carbon-linked coupon
Posted: Jun 13, 2014
In a couple of weeks I’ll be flying into the toxic pea-soup air of Beijing, for our next round of work on “Growing a Green Bonds Market in China”.
The ADB is Asia's development bank and also green bank - and it understands the link. But it also still funds coal. Post-Haiyan, public sector money concerned with Asia’s long-term future has no place funding future-destroying coal
Posted: Jun 12, 2014
That's up from just under $11bn in the whole of 2013.
Alert: we're about to hit $20bn of green 'labeled' bonds issued this year; we're at $19.67bn as of today. Just thought you might like to know.
Posted: Jun 5, 2014
Big news for the green bonds market with the issuance of a first emerging market green bond. We’re not 100% sure on the size yet but we know they were aiming for R1.5bn ($139m) and it seems as though they were more than successful.
Just Out: First emerging market green city bond... City of Johannesburg Green Bond, approx R1.5bn ($139m), 1.5x oversubscribed!
Posted: Jun 2, 2014
Financial Times, Climate change is a business problem, Mike Scott
Probably the most interesting green bonds article of this month is one by Mike Scott of Financial Times. Written in the perspective of the UN IPCC report calling for a drastic action needed in order to avoid catastrophic temperatures rise, it highlights the role of investors in divesting from fossil fuels. Climate bonds are brought into the picture as a sound investment alternative:
May media monitor for you: 5 stories in the Financial Times!!! + WashPost, EnvFinance, BusinessGreen, EnergyPost, CNBC, Bloomberg, ABC Australia
Posted: May 30, 2014
The Swedish City of Gothenburg has made a second foray into the green bonds market with a SEK1.8bn ($273m) 6 year bond. This follows on from a successful SEK500m issuance last year. The bond was sold mostly to Swedish investors but word is that they attracted a few new international investors too. Underwriter was SEB.
The Swedes come marching in ... just out Gothenburg 6yr, SEK1.8bn ($273m) Green City Bond. Earlier in the month new issuers Stockholm Lans Landstring SEK870m ($167m) and Rikshem green property SEK100m ($15m) joined the charge.