Guidelines for the issuance of thematic labelled financial instruments

The guidelines establish a framework for GSS+ labelled financial instruments in Panama, aligning with international standards like ICMA and the Climate Bonds Standard. It details the requirements for use-of-proceeds instruments (green, social, sustainability) and general-purpose sustainability-linked instruments, emphasizing transparency, external reviews, and impact reporting. The document also highlights Panama's Sustainable Finance Taxonomy and the broader sustainable debt market trends in Latin America and the Caribbean.

• The guidelines define GSS+ as an umbrella term encompassing green, social, sustainable, and sustainability-linked financial instruments, as well as sub-categories such as blue and gender labels.
• For use-of-proceeds instruments, issuers must ensure funds are allocated to eligible projects within 24 months of issuance or provide an estimated timeline for final allocation.
• Sustainability-linked financial instruments are performance-based and may include coupon step-ups (higher returns for investors if targets are missed) or step-downs (lower returns if targets are exceeded).
• External reviews are recommended to ensure credibility; these include Second Party Opinions (SPO), verification/certification (such as the Climate Bonds Standard), and third-party rating/scoring.
• Panama launched its Sustainable Finance Taxonomy in March 2024, making it the first country in Central America and the third in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) to do so.
• The Panamanian GSS+ market is primarily driven by the private sector, with non-financial corporates accounting for 84% of the cumulative green bond volume (USD 403 million) by the end of 2023.
• In the LAC region, sustainability labels were the most widely used in 2023, representing 54% of labelled emissions, and the region is the only one globally to show a consistent increase in this label over four years.
• Orange labelled financial instruments are specifically designed to tackle gender inequality, requiring issuers to have a team with at least 30% representation from women and gender minorities.
• The IDB's Green Bond Transparency Platform (GBTP), launched in April 2021, has included approximately 80% of the LAC region's issuance volume, reporting over 200 deals from 100 issuers.

APA

Contreras, V. D., Borges, S., Barrenechea, A., Isaza, D., Costa, D., & Coloma, B. (2024). Guidelines for the issuance of thematic labelled financial instruments. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Climate-Bonds_Guidelines-for-the-issuance-of-thematic-labelled-financial-instruments_February-2025_2025-03-03-131133_soqx.pdf

Chicago

Contreras, Valeria Dagnino, Sofía Borges, Andrea Barrenechea, Diana Isaza, Daniel Costa, and Bruno Coloma. Guidelines for the issuance of thematic labelled financial instruments. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2024. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Climate-Bonds_Guidelines-for-the-issuance-of-thematic-labelled-financial-instruments_February-2025_2025-03-03-131133_soqx.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Contreras |first1=Valeria Dagnino |last2=Borges |first2=Sofía |last3=Barrenechea |first3=Andrea |last4=Isaza |first4=Diana |last5=Costa |first5=Daniel |last6=Coloma |first6=Bruno |title=Guidelines for the issuance of thematic labelled financial instruments |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=August 2024 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Climate-Bonds_Guidelines-for-the-issuance-of-thematic-labelled-financial-instruments_February-2025_2025-03-03-131133_soqx.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{contreras2024guidelines, author = {Contreras, Valeria Dagnino and Borges, Sofía and Barrenechea, Andrea and Isaza, Diana and Costa, Daniel and Coloma, Bruno}, title = {{Guidelines for the issuance of thematic labelled financial instruments}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2024}, month = aug, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Climate-Bonds_Guidelines-for-the-issuance-of-thematic-labelled-financial-instruments_February-2025_2025-03-03-131133_soqx.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }