Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2023

The report finds that the aligned GSS+ debt market reached a cumulative volume of USD 4.4 trillion by the end of 2023. Green bonds remain the dominant theme, with 2023 aligned volume reaching USD 587.6 billion, while sustainability and social bonds saw year-on-year declines. Conversely, aligned SLB volume grew by 95% to USD 22.9 billion. Europe was the largest source of aligned GSS+ debt in 2023, while the USA experienced a 38% decline due to anti-ESG sentiment. The report also highlights the growth of 'blue-labelled' debt and the increasing role of sovereign issuers in the GSS+ market.

• By 31 December 2023, the cumulative volume of aligned GSS+ instruments reached USD 4.4 trillion from more than 43,000 instruments, representing 80% of the total recorded GSS+ volume of USD 5.5 trillion.
• Aligned green bond volume grew by 15% year-on-year to USD 587.6 billion in 2023, with Europe contributing 53% (USD 309.6 billion) of that total. China was the largest individual country source, contributing USD 83.5 billion.
• The aligned sustainability bond market declined by 31% in 2023, with volume falling to USD 107.8 billion from USD 156.7 billion in 2022. Mexico was the largest country source of these bonds, contributing USD 11.9 billion.
• Aligned social bond volume decreased by 7% to USD 153.3 billion in 2023. South Korea emerged as the largest country source, with the Korea Housing Finance Corp (KHFC) alone pricing USD 30.6 billion.
• Aligned sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) saw a 95% increase in volume to USD 22.9 billion in 2023. The share of aligned SLBs reached a record high of 35% of the amount issued, though partial GHG scope coverage remains the primary reason for non-alignment by amount.
• The sovereign GSS+ market reached a cumulative volume of USD 485.6 billion by the end of 2023, with 50 issuing countries. Brazil became the 50th aligned issuer in November 2023 with a USD 2 billion sustainability deal.
• Blue-labelled and water-labelled debt experienced a 163% year-on-year increase in 2023, reaching nearly USD 6.4 billion in aligned volume, with a cumulative total of around USD 17 billion.
• In 2023, 1,222 aligned GSS+ instruments were identified as having a portion of their Use of Proceeds (UoP) earmarked for Adaptation and Resilience (A&R) activities, though the total number of such deals dropped by 21% year-on-year.

APA

Chouhan, N., Harrison, C., & Sharma, D. (2024). Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2023. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Global-State-of-the-Market-Report-2023.pdf

Chicago

Chouhan, Neeraj, Caroline Harrison, and Deepak Sharma. Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2023. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2024. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Global-State-of-the-Market-Report-2023.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chouhan |first1=Neeraj |last2=Harrison |first2=Caroline |last3=Sharma |first3=Deepak |title=Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2023 |publisher=Climate Bonds Initiative |date=May 2024 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Global-State-of-the-Market-Report-2023.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chouhan2024sustainable, author = {Chouhan, Neeraj and Harrison, Caroline and Sharma, Deepak}, title = {{Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2023}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Global-State-of-the-Market-Report-2023.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }