Sustainable Debt, Global State of the Market 2021

The global GSS+ debt market reached a cumulative volume of USD 2.8 trillion by the end of 2021, with new issuance in 2021 alone surpassing USD 1 trillion. Green bonds remain the largest segment, while sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) showed the fastest year-on-year growth. The report highlights the dominance of developed markets, particularly Europe, and the emerging role of sovereign issuers and taxonomies in standardising the market.

• The total volume of new GSS+ themed debt captured in 2021 was almost USD 1.1 trillion, representing a 46% increase over the USD 730.5 billion recorded in 2020.
• Green bonds are the largest component of the sustainable debt market, with 2021 annual issuance reaching USD 522.7 billion, a 75% increase year-on-year, bringing the cumulative total to USD 1.6 trillion.
• Sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) were the fastest-growing theme in 2021, expanding ten times year-on-year to reach a total of USD 135.0 billion.
• Europe is the most prolific region for green bonds, accounting for 50% of 2021 volumes (USD 265 billion) and reaching a cumulative issuance of USD 758 billion by year-end.
• The United States was the largest single country source of green debt in 2021, with volumes increasing 63% to USD 81.9 billion.
• Sovereign GSS bond volumes grew by 103% in 2021, reaching a cumulative total of USD 193 billion, with the United Kingdom issuing a pair of green bonds worth USD 21.9 billion.
• The social bond market reached an annual record in 2021 at approximately USD 220 billion, an 18% increase year-on-year, largely driven by government-backed entities and COVID-19 responses.
• Climate-aligned unlabelled bonds—debt that finances climate-aligned activities but lacks a green label—amounted to USD 795 billion in 2021, with transport being the dominant theme at USD 463 billion.
• The transition bond market remains small due to a lack of agreed standards, growing by over 33% year-on-year to a cumulative USD 9.6 billion by the end of 2021.
• Energy, Buildings, and Transport were the primary use-of-proceeds categories for green bonds in 2021, collectively accounting for 81% of the total.

APA

Climate Bonds Initiative (2021). Sustainable Debt, Global State of the Market 2021. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Sustainable-Debt-Global-State-of-the-Market-2021.pdf

Chicago

Climate Bonds Initiative. Sustainable Debt, Global State of the Market 2021. 2021. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Sustainable-Debt-Global-State-of-the-Market-2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Bonds Initiative |title=Sustainable Debt, Global State of the Market 2021 |date=2021 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Sustainable-Debt-Global-State-of-the-Market-2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatebondsinitiative2021sustainable, author = {{Climate Bonds Initiative}}, title = {{Sustainable Debt, Global State of the Market 2021}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2021}, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Sustainable-Debt-Global-State-of-the-Market-2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }