The climate-themed bond market is much broader and deeper than previously thought, with $174 billion worth of bonds outstanding, according to a report commissioned by the HSBC Climate Change Center of Excellence.
The Climate Bonds Initiative, which prepared the report, only included bonds issued since 2005 – the year the Kyoto Protocol came into force. The report, Bonds and Climate Change: The State of Market in 2012, identifies seven climate-themed areas in which bond investors can tap current opportunities: energy, transport, buildings and industry, waste, water, agriculture and forestry.
The Climate Bonds Initiative then analyzed how the proceeds of the identified bonds were used. Fully dedicated bonds were classified as climate-themed bonds.
The study found over 1,000 outstanding climate-themed bonds, which came from 207 issuers. Corporations, including state-owned and private companies, issued 82 percent of the total, followed by development banks and financial institutions with 13 percent of the bonds. Project bonds accounted for 3 percent and municipal bonds were 2 percent.
Prometheus Institute 