UK-CHINA COLLABORATION ON GROWING A GLOBAL GREEN BOND MARKET

This report by the Climate Bonds Initiative and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) outlines a framework for collaboration between the United Kingdom and China to expand the global green bond market. It identifies the UK as a global hub for green finance and China as a leader in policy support, proposing joint actions to scale cross-border issuance, harmonise green definitions, and develop robust project pipelines to meet the massive investment needs of the low-carbon transition.

• The global investment requirement for infrastructure through 2030 is estimated at USD 90 trillion, with an additional 3–4% annual increase (approximately USD 6.2 trillion) needed to ensure this infrastructure is low-carbon. Climate adaptation needs are estimated to require an additional USD 250–500 billion per year by 2050 for a 2-degree Celsius scenario.
• The labelled green bond market has experienced rapid growth, with annual issuance increasing from USD 11 billion in 2013 to USD 41.8 billion in 2015. By June 2016, the unlabelled climate bond universe was significantly larger at USD 576 billion, though the labelled segment is growing faster.
• China is a primary driver of green bond growth; in the first quarter of 2016, it accounted for 50% of total global green bond issuance. The People's Bank of China (PBoC) expected RMB 300 billion (USD 45.6 billion) of green bonds to be issued in 2016, a figure that would exceed the total global issuance of 2015.
• The UK has established itself as a global hub for green finance, with London hosting pioneering organisations and the London Stock Exchange creating dedicated 'green bond' segments in July 2015. The City of London also launched the Green Finance Initiative (GFI) in January 2016 to mobilise capital for the Paris climate change agreement and UN Sustainable Development Goals.
• The global green bond market faces three primary challenges: a limited pipeline of bankable green projects, a lack of commonly accepted standards for green credentials, and low awareness among issuers regarding the benefits and processes of issuing green bonds.
• Proposed UK-China collaborations to lead the market include scaling cross-border issuance (such as Chinese issuers using London markets), bilateral research between the Bank of England (BoE) and the PBoC on central bank roles, and cooperation between the Climate Bonds Initiative, PBoC, and China's Green Finance Committee to create globally harmonised green definitions.
• The Climate Bonds Standard and Certification Scheme is the only global certification scheme of its kind. As of May 2016, it had been used for USD 6 billion of green bonds, providing a science-based framework to reduce transaction costs and increase investor confidence.

APA

(Lily), W. D., Kidney, S., & Sonerud, B. (2016). UK-CHINA COLLABORATION ON GROWING A GLOBAL GREEN BOND MARKET. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://web.archive.org/web/20241214202533/https://www.climatebonds.net/files/files/-CBI-IISD-China%20Roadmap%20Paper4-EN.pdf

Chicago

(Lily), Weihui Dai, Sean Kidney, and Beate Sonerud. UK-CHINA COLLABORATION ON GROWING A GLOBAL GREEN BOND MARKET. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20241214202533/https://www.climatebonds.net/files/files/-CBI-IISD-China%20Roadmap%20Paper4-EN.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=(Lily) |first1=Weihui Dai |last2=Kidney |first2=Sean |last3=Sonerud |first3=Beate |title=UK-CHINA COLLABORATION ON GROWING A GLOBAL GREEN BOND MARKET |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=September 2016 |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241214202533/https://www.climatebonds.net/files/files/-CBI-IISD-China%20Roadmap%20Paper4-EN.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{lily2016ukchina, author = {(Lily), Weihui Dai and Kidney, Sean and Sonerud, Beate}, title = {{UK-CHINA COLLABORATION ON GROWING A GLOBAL GREEN BOND MARKET}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2016}, month = sep, url = {https://web.archive.org/web/20241214202533/https://www.climatebonds.net/files/files/-CBI-IISD-China%20Roadmap%20Paper4-EN.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }