Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2025

As of the end of 2025, the Climate Bonds Initiative recorded a cumulative aligned GSS+ debt volume of USD6.8tn, with annual aligned volume reaching USD1.0tn for the third consecutive year. Green bonds remain the dominant label, accounting for 64% of 2025 aligned volume (USD653.5bn), while sustainability bonds reached a record annual volume of USD217.3bn. Europe leads globally in both annual and cumulative aligned volume, though the USA remains the largest single country source of cumulative aligned volume at USD887.4bn. The report also highlights the launch of the Climate Bonds Resilience Taxonomy (CBRT) to address the funding gap for climate adaptation and resilience, exemplified by the world's first CBRT-certified resilience bond issued by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government.

• By the end of 2025, the cumulative volume of aligned GSS+ debt reached USD6.8tn, with annual aligned volume for 2025 totaling USD1.0tn.
• Green bonds continue to be the primary driver of the market, representing 64% of aligned GSS+ volume in 2025 with a value of USD653.5bn, and surpassing a cumulative total of USD4tn.
• Sustainability-labelled debt achieved its second consecutive record annual volume in 2025, reaching USD217.3bn, and for the first time since 2019, its cumulative aligned volume marginally exceeded that of social bonds.
• In 2025, non-financial corporates and financial corporates were the leading issuer types by volume, recording USD237.9bn and USD234.5bn respectively, while development banks and government-backed entities followed.
• Geographically, Europe is the leading region, accounting for 45% of both annual (USD467bn) and cumulative (USD3tn) aligned GSS+ volume. At the country level, the USA is the largest source of cumulative aligned volume (USD887.4bn), followed by China (USD683.2bn) and France (USD660bn).
• The alignment rate for sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) reached a record high in 2025, with aligned volume (USD14bn) representing 40% of the total SLB volume issued that year.
• To address the funding gap for climate adaptation and resilience (A&R), Climate Bonds launched the Climate Bonds Resilience Taxonomy (CBRT) in 2025, which identifies over 1,400 potential investments across seven themes.
• The Tokyo Metropolitan Government issued the world's first Climate Bonds Certified resilience-labelled bond in October 2025, valued at EUR300mn, which was 7x oversubscribed.

APA

Javier, J. A. B., & Muldoon, C. (2026). Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2025. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Sustainable_Debt_2025_02C.pdf

Chicago

Javier, Joaquin Alfonso B., and Clodagh Muldoon. Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2025. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2026. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Sustainable_Debt_2025_02C.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Javier |first1=Joaquin Alfonso B. |last2=Muldoon |first2=Clodagh |title=Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2025 |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=March 2026 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Sustainable_Debt_2025_02C.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{javier2026sustainable, author = {Javier, Joaquin Alfonso B. and Muldoon, Clodagh}, title = {{Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2025}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2026}, month = mar, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Sustainable_Debt_2025_02C.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }