Global GSS+ market surges to USD 5.4 trillion in Q3
2024 poised to hit a record-breaking USD 1 trillion in annual issuance
Highlights:
- By the end of the third quarter, cumulative aligned GSS+ debt volume had topped USD5.4 trillion in Q3 2024.
- Cumulative aligned social volumes broke through the USD 1 trillion in much-anticipated milestone, reaching USD 1.1 trillion, cumulative aligned sustainability volumes on track to breach USD 1 trillion by year end
- Year-to-date aligned GSS+ bonds (including transition) accounted for USD 818.2 billion, an increase of 11% compared to the same period in 2023.
- France, Germany and U.K are the top sources of aligned sovereign GSS+ volume.
London 28/11/2024 09:00 GMT: Climate Bonds Initiative releases today the Sustainable debt market Summary Q3 2024, highlighting key figures from their Market Intelligence team of green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked (GSS+) bond volumes over the last quarter and the year to date.
The GSS+ debt market continues to thrive. Among the key findings, cumulative aligned social volume broke through the USD 1 trillion mark in Q3, reaching USD 1.1 trillion. Sustainability volume reached USD 956.4 billion and is also expected to breach the USD 1 trillion mark by year end. By the end of Q3 2024, Climate Bonds recorded volume of USD 5.4 trillion of GSS+ debt in alignment with its screening methodologies.
Q3 2024 aligned GSS+ volume reached USD 248.7bn, the strongest third quarter since 2021 (USD 260.9bn). This represented a 19% uptick compared to the same period in 2023 (USD 209.4bn). Comparing the issuance landscape across the two years, there was a surge in volume from non-financial corporates, sovereigns, development banks, and government-backed entities in Q3 2024. This was led by development banks, which delivered a 120% increase in aligned volume in Q3 2024 (USD 52.9bn) from Q3 2023 (USD 23.9bn).
Caroline Harrison, Director of Technical Development at Climate Bonds: “The global sustainable debt market is thriving, and continues to offer new diversification opportunities for investors. The takeaway from COP29 is the urgency to increase financial flows for climate change solutions from billions to trillions, and the GSS+ market can deliver that objective. The standards, infrastructure, and investor appetite are all in place to absorb the required scale.”
Spotlight: Sovereign issuance reflects positive themes from 2024.
In a seismic year of geo-political shifts, there was a 45% increase in aligned GSS+ sovereign volume in Q3 (USD 33.4 billion). France, Germany and the U.K are the largest cumulative sovereign issuers, reflecting a solid focus and commitment to transform government expenditures.
The Dominican Republic priced its debut sovereign green bond. The USD 750 million green deal was priced at the end of June closely following the publication of its Green, Social and Sustainability Bond Framework, designed to address the country’s climate vulnerabilities. The framework references initiatives such as the National Plan for Adaptation to Climate Change (2015-2030) among others and identified nine green project categories and nine social project categories.
Spotlight: U.S- based data centre operators expand the green bond market
With the rapid development of artificial intelligence (AI), the global data centre market size is expected to reach USD 418bn by 2030 and beyond, given the growth projections for this sector.
Several green deals from US data centre operators were priced in Q3 2024. Stack Infrastructure was the largest corporate source of aligned green debt, with its USD 3 billion loan, priced in August. Digital Realty Trust Inc., a Texas-based global data centre provider, priced a USD 942m nine-year green bond via its subsidiary, Digital Dutch Finco BV, in September.
This latest green bond is Digital Realty’s seventh since 2015, and the company recently completed the allocation process for its other six green deals which have combined volume of USD 6bn, and support more than 130 sustainable projects.
Read the full version of the report here for the full details.
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Contact for interviews and further information:
Barney Lloyd-Wood
Communications Specialist, Climate Bonds Initiative
Barney.lloyd-wood@climatebonds.net
Notes to the editor:
About the Climate Bonds Initiative: Climate Bonds is the leading international non-governmental organisation mobilising global capital for climate action. We drive the growth of the green and sustainable debt market through science-aligned frameworks including our taxonomies and standards, our Certification, our data and insights, and our provision of expert policy and technical advice. More information on our website here.
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