Market integrity

The report finds that while most thematic bonds meet standards, approximately 25% of green bonds and 6% of social and sustainability bonds priced in 2022 were excluded from Climate Bonds databases due to insufficient information or non-aligned Use of Proceeds (UoP). Key issues include the allocation of funds to general working capital in China, the inclusion of roads in social and sustainability frameworks in Japan, and inadequate building standards in the USA and Germany.

• Between January and September 2022, USD 106.2bn of green bonds and USD 14.4bn of social and sustainability (S&S) bonds were excluded from Climate Bonds databases because they failed to meet inclusion criteria.
• The primary reasons for bond exclusion are insufficient disclosure from the issuer or Use of Proceeds (UoP) that lack required ambition, such as projects not meeting green/social criteria, project types not yet listed in methodology, or proceeds directed to general working capital.
• China was the largest source of excluded green bonds, primarily due to USD 11.3bn in UoP allocations to general working capital and USD 9.0bn in bonds including fossil fuels like liquid natural gas (LNG).
• In the USA and Germany, a significant portion of excluded green bonds were related to building standards that were not sufficiently ambitious; this accounted for USD 5.5bn of excluded volumes in the USA and 70% of excluded volumes in Germany (USD 3.9bn).
• Japan accounted for 56% of excluded social and sustainability bond volumes, largely because these deals listed roads as an eligible Use of Proceeds, which Climate Bonds does not consider climate friendly.

APA

Harrison, C. (2022). Market integrity. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/3-in-every-4-dollars-of-green-bonds-issuance-meets-standards.pdf

Chicago

Harrison, Caroline. Market integrity. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2022. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/3-in-every-4-dollars-of-green-bonds-issuance-meets-standards.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Harrison |first1=Caroline |title=Market integrity |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=December 2022 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/3-in-every-4-dollars-of-green-bonds-issuance-meets-standards.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{harrison2022market, author = {Harrison, Caroline}, title = {{Market integrity}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2022}, month = dec, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/3-in-every-4-dollars-of-green-bonds-issuance-meets-standards.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }