Sustainable Debt Market Summary Q1 2022

The Sustainable Debt Market Summary Q1 2022 reports that cumulative GSS+ labelled debt reached USD3 trillion by the end of the first quarter of 2022. Despite this milestone, the market experienced a year-on-year decline in issuance volumes of nearly 30% due to market volatility, rising interest rates, and the war in Ukraine.

• Cumulative GSS+ labelled debt, which includes green, social, sustainability, sustainability-linked, and transition bonds, reached a milestone of USD3 trillion at the end of Q1 2022, with cumulative green debt accounting for USD1.7 trillion.
• Total GSS+ issuance volumes in Q1 2022 were USD202.2 billion, representing a year-on-year decline of almost 30% compared to Q1 2021, when volumes were USD284 billion. Green bond volumes decreased by nearly 38% and social bond issuance halved, while sustainability Use of Proceeds (UoP) and sustainability-linked bonds grew by 27% and over 100%, respectively.
• Green bond issuance in Q1 2022 totaled USD83.5 billion, a 38% decrease from Q1 2021. Europe-based issuers led the volume with USD47.2 billion (56%), followed by Asia-Pacific with USD28.6 billion (34%). China was the most prolific country by total amount issued (USD20.8 billion) and number of issuers (60).
• Sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) grew by 103.3% year-on-year in Q1 2022, representing 11.9% (USD24 billion) of total sustainable debt issuance. There is a trend toward standardization around greenhouse gas (GHG) emission targets, which were tied to 61% of KPIs used this quarter, with 77% of those targets being SBTi-verified.
• The first quarter of 2022 saw significant firsts for the SLB market, including the first sovereign SLB issued by Chile (USD2 billion, 20-year deal), the first public sector SLB issued by the City of Helsingborg in Sweden, and the first US municipal SLB issued by the Arizona Industrial Development Authority (USD200 million).
• Transition bond issuance in Q1 2022 reached USD470 million, bringing the cumulative total to USD9.7 billion. New entrants in the market included Japan Airlines and Tokyo Gas, though the Climate Bonds Initiative cautioned against funding fossil fuel projects, such as the LNG project funded by Tokyo Gas.

APA

Climate Bonds Initiative (2022). Sustainable Debt Market Summary Q1 2022. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Sustainable-Debt-Market-Summary-Q1-2022.pdf

Chicago

Climate Bonds Initiative. Sustainable Debt Market Summary Q1 2022. 2022. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Sustainable-Debt-Market-Summary-Q1-2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Bonds Initiative |title=Sustainable Debt Market Summary Q1 2022 |date=May 2022 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Sustainable-Debt-Market-Summary-Q1-2022.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatebondsinitiative2022sustainable, author = {{Climate Bonds Initiative}}, title = {{Sustainable Debt Market Summary Q1 2022}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2022}, month = may, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Sustainable-Debt-Market-Summary-Q1-2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }