Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2024

The report finds that the cumulative aligned GSS+ market reached USD 5.7 trillion by the end of 2024. Green bonds remain the dominant theme, while sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) saw a significant decrease in aligned volume. Europe continues to be the largest source of aligned GSS+ debt, and the report highlights the growth of sovereign issuance and the development of national taxonomies.

• By the end of 2024, the cumulative volume of aligned GSS+ instruments reached USD 5.7 trillion from 54,025 instruments, representing 83% of the total recorded GSS+ volume of USD 6.9 trillion.
• In 2024, aligned GSS+ issuance reached USD 1.05 trillion, an 11% increase over 2023. Green bonds accounted for 64% of this volume (USD 672 billion), while sustainability and social bonds grew by 32% and 9% respectively.
• Europe was the primary source of aligned GSS+ debt in 2024, contributing USD 475 billion, which is 45% of the total volume. The USA followed with 16% of the volume, marking a 45% year-on-year increase.
• The aligned sustainability-linked bond (SLB) market experienced a sharp decline in 2024, with aligned volume falling 65% to USD 7.9 billion from USD 22.8 billion in 2023. The alignment rate for SLBs dropped to 19% in 2024 from 35% in 2023.
• Sovereign GSS+ issuance reached a cumulative aligned volume of USD 656 billion by the end of 2024, with 59 aligned issuers. Green bonds dominate this segment, accounting for 80% of the cumulative volume.
• The aligned social bond market grew by 9.1% in 2024 to USD 167.6 billion. Government-backed entities were the primary drivers, accounting for 61% of all aligned social bonds (USD 102.6 billion).
• Aligned sustainability bond volume increased by 31% in 2024 to USD 206.3 billion. Development banks were the largest contributors, accounting for 41.8% of the aligned volume (USD 86.2 billion).
• The blue- and water-labelled GSS+ market saw a decline in 2024, with aligned volume of nearly USD 5.4 billion, an 18% decrease from 2023. Asia-Pacific is now the main source of these bonds, representing 40% of the cumulative volume.
• A significant portion of the SLB market remains non-aligned; the primary reasons for non-alignment are partial GHG scope coverage in targets and a lack of GHG targets.
• The Climate Bonds Standard and Certification Scheme grew by 42% in 2024, with certified volume rising to USD 31.1 billion. Cumulative certified issuance reached USD 298.7 billion by the end of 2024.

APA

Muldoon, C., Harrison, C., & Sharma, D. (2025). Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2024. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Climate-Bonds_Sustainable_Debt_2024_Global-State-of-the-Market_24-Sep-2025.pdf

Chicago

Muldoon, Clodagh, Caroline Harrison, and Deepak Sharma. Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2024. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2025. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Climate-Bonds_Sustainable_Debt_2024_Global-State-of-the-Market_24-Sep-2025.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Muldoon |first1=Clodagh |last2=Harrison |first2=Caroline |last3=Sharma |first3=Deepak |title=Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2024 |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=May 2025 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Climate-Bonds_Sustainable_Debt_2024_Global-State-of-the-Market_24-Sep-2025.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{muldoon2025sustainable, author = {Muldoon, Clodagh and Harrison, Caroline and Sharma, Deepak}, title = {{Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2024}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2025}, month = may, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Climate-Bonds_Sustainable_Debt_2024_Global-State-of-the-Market_24-Sep-2025.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }