Climate Bonds Core Methodology for Data Products

The Climate Bonds Core Methodology for Data Products provides a science-based framework for evaluating labelled-debt instruments, including green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked bonds. It employs a tiered system consisting of the Core Methodology, dataset-level methodologies, and an internal screening library to ensure consistency and credibility. Instruments are screened based on their use-of-proceeds (UoP) or key performance indicators (KPIs) and classified as 'aligned', 'not aligned', or 'pending'. The framework prioritizes avoiding 'fossil-fuel lock-in' and uses a materiality-based approach for tagging sub-themes such as biodiversity and climate resilience. While external reviews are considered supplementary, alignment is determined independently through a systematic review of issuer disclosures and formal transaction documentation.

• The methodology applies to all labelled-debt instruments claiming environmental, social, sustainability, or performance-linked objectives, including green, social, sustainability, sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs), and emerging labels like transition or blue bonds.
• Climate Bonds uses a binary classification system to determine if a bond is 'aligned' (credibly contributing to objectives) or 'not aligned' (lacking credibility, ambition, or transparency), with a 'pending' status for cases with insufficient public disclosure.
• The framework utilizes a high-level exclusion principle focused on preventing 'fossil-fuel lock-in'—defined as long-term dependence on fossil-fuel infrastructure—rather than a comprehensive 'do no significant harm' (DNSH) framework.
• Sub-themes (such as blue, biodiversity, gender, just transition, methane, and climate resilience) are assigned based on a materiality assessment to provide a label-agnostic view of what an instrument funds, allowing for multi-tagging where overlaps occur.
• The screening process relies primarily on formal transaction documentation and issuer disclosures; external reviews (such as SPOs) are treated as supplementary inputs and do not guarantee automatic inclusion or alignment.
• A '10% flexibility margin' may be applied in certain datasets to allow for a small share of non-eligible components, provided they are incidental and do not conflict with climate mitigation objectives or breach safeguards.

APA

Michetti, C. (2026). Climate Bonds Core Methodology for Data Products. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Core-Methodology-for-Data-Products_01A-1.pdf

Chicago

Michetti, Carlotta. Climate Bonds Core Methodology for Data Products. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2026. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Core-Methodology-for-Data-Products_01A-1.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Michetti |first1=Carlotta |title=Climate Bonds Core Methodology for Data Products |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=March 2026 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Core-Methodology-for-Data-Products_01A-1.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{michetti2026climate, author = {Michetti, Carlotta}, title = {{Climate Bonds Core Methodology for Data Products}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Core-Methodology-for-Data-Products_01A-1.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }