Global Green Bond Sales Tripled to $35B in 2014

Green bonds represent a relatively new asset class that is designed to raise capital and investment for projects with environmental benefits. Just like regular financial bonds, the green bonds can be issued by banks, companies or governments. The issuer guarantees to repay the bond over a defined period of time, along with a fixed or variable return on investment. The market for these environmentally-focused bonds appears to be developing rapidly, with money managers jumping in to purchase them.  

The sale of green bonds tripled to $35 billion globally in 2014. Participants are keen to avoid an impression that green bonds are merely a marketing ploy. SEB AB, the Swedish bank, which is the world’s largest underwriter of green bonds, says it is important to demonstrate the intrinsic environmental value of these bonds to create a sustainable market niche. In any case, 2014 has seen significant success in this market with new issuers and new buyers. 

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Vikas is a staff writer for the Sustainable Development news and editorial section on Justmeans. He is an MBA with 20 years of managerial and entrepreneurial experience and global travel. He is the author of "The Power of Money" (Scholars, 2003), a book that presents a revolutionary monetary economic theory on poverty alleviation in the developing world. Vikas is also the official writer for an international social project for developing nations "Decisions for Life" run in collaboration between the ILO, the University of Amsterdam and the Indian Institute of Management.