Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2022

The global GSS+ debt market reached a cumulative volume of USD3.7tn by the end of 2022, though new issuance fell 24% year-on-year to USD858.5bn due to rising interest rates and macroeconomic instability. Green bonds remained the dominant theme, accounting for 58% of 2022 volumes at USD487.1bn, while social bonds saw the steepest decline (41%) as COVID-19 recovery funding tapered. Transition bonds were the only segment to grow, increasing 5% to USD3.5bn, driven by policy support in China and Japan. The report also highlights the emergence of sovereign sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) in Chile and Uruguay and the need for a dedicated Climate Resilience Taxonomy to scale adaptation and resilience (A&R) financing.

• In 2022, the total volume of new GSS+ debt instruments captured by Climate Bonds was USD858.5bn, representing a 24% decrease compared to the USD1.1tn recorded in 2021.
• Green bonds continued to be the largest segment of the market, contributing USD487.1bn in 2022 (58% of total GSS+ volumes) and reaching a cumulative market size of USD2.2tn.
• The social bond market experienced the most significant decline in 2022, falling 41% year-on-year to USD130.2bn, primarily because issuers stopped using the debt market for COVID-19 recovery funding.
• Transition bonds were the only GSS+ theme to grow in 2022, increasing 5% year-on-year to USD3.5bn, with the number of issuers nearly tripling due to policy support in Japan and China.
• Sustainability-linked bond (SLB) issuance fell 32% year-on-year to USD76.4bn in 2022, though the market saw the first sovereign SLB issuances from Chile (USD2bn) and Uruguay (USD1.5bn).
• China became the leading source of green debt in 2022, issuing USD85.4bn, surpassing the USA which issued USD64.4bn.
• The European Union's green bond programme significantly drove supranational growth, issuing a cumulative total of USD39.9bn over four deals since October 2021.
• Approximately 19% of the 33,849 GSS+ instruments recorded by the end of 2022 contained resilience-related use-of-proceeds, but Climate Bonds notes that a 'hidden market' for resilience exists due to inadequate labelling and disclosure.
• Sovereign GSS+ issuance declined by 20% year-on-year, with Europe contributing 73% of the cumulative volume of USD324.2bn from 43 countries.

APA

Michetti, C., Chouhan, N., Harrison, C., & MacGeoch, M. (2023). Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2022. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Global-State-of-the-Market-Report-2022.pdf

Chicago

Michetti, Carlotta, Neeraj Chouhan, Caroline Harrison, and Matthew MacGeoch. Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2022. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2023. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Global-State-of-the-Market-Report-2022.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Michetti |first1=Carlotta |last2=Chouhan |first2=Neeraj |last3=Harrison |first3=Caroline |last4=MacGeoch |first4=Matthew |title=Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2022 |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=April 2023 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Global-State-of-the-Market-Report-2022.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{michetti2023sustainable, author = {Michetti, Carlotta and Chouhan, Neeraj and Harrison, Caroline and MacGeoch, Matthew}, title = {{Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2022}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2023}, month = apr, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Global-State-of-the-Market-Report-2022.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }