Taking Advantage of Increasing Green Bonds

Green bonds are fixed income, liquid financial instruments that are used to raise funds dedicated to climate-mitigation, adaptation, and other environment-friendly projects. According to the international Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), $27.3 billion dollars has already been issued in 2016 for projects supporting environmental sustainability—alongside the $41.8 billion that had been issued in 2015. One of the key drivers of the market is the growing number of asset managers with mandates to increase investment in instruments that support low-carbon growth. World Bank Group Vice President, Rachel Kyte, has proclaimed that these green bonds “are providing green investment opportunity for an ever wider investor group, including those who wish to divest and diversify from fossil fuel-intensive portfolios, and they have proven that a stream of investor capital exists for green assets.” The benefits of these projects can be measured both in the benefits to society and in the reduction of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. Proceeds from these bonds are earmarked for green projects but are backed by the issuer’s entire balance sheet. Read more here.