Water Infrastructure Criteria under the Climate Bonds Standard

The document details the three-phase development of the Water Infrastructure Criteria, which aim to prevent 'greenwashing' in the green bond market by providing scientific standards for water-related investments. It covers built, nature-based, and hybrid infrastructure, with a specific focus on the newly added desalination criteria. The framework emphasizes a process-based approach to climate vulnerability assessments and sets a carbon intensity threshold of 100gCO2/kWh for desalination plants to align with the Paris Agreement.

• The Water Infrastructure Criteria were developed in three phases: Phase 1 (October 2016) focused on built water infrastructure; Phase 2 (March 2018) added nature-based and hybrid solutions; and Phase 3 (January 2021) introduced specific criteria for desalination plants.
• To be certified, water infrastructure assets must support climate mitigation and be robust to future climate impacts. For assets with an operational lifetime longer than 20 years, a climate vulnerability or risk assessment and a corresponding adaptation plan are required.
• The criteria employ a process-based approach to assess climate vulnerability, evaluating the depth and scope of the assessment rather than specific outcomes, as resilience is often subjective and varies by region.
• For desalination plants, the mitigation threshold is based on the carbon intensity of the energy source rather than energy efficiency. The default threshold is set at 100gCO2/kWh of electricity, aligned with the EU taxonomy, to ensure alignment with a net-zero by 2050 goal.
• Desalination criteria specifically address two critical adaptation and resilience issues: brine disposal and feedwater intake. Issuers must provide evidence of measures to manage these to avoid adverse impacts on aquatic ecosystems.
• Nature-based solutions (NBS) are prioritized based on a hierarchy: first using existing and intact ecosystems, then restoring existing ones, and finally creating new ecosystems, particularly at brownfield sites.
• Certain assets are explicitly excluded from the Water Infrastructure Criteria, including hydropower (which has its own forthcoming criteria), mining operations, nuclear power, and assets that directly support fossil fuels, such as Integrated Water and Power Plants (IWPP).
• The certification process requires issuers to score a minimum of 60 percent pass for all sections of the resilience checklist, including sections on allocation, governance, and eco-hydrological qualities.

APA

Climate Bonds Initiative (2021). Water Infrastructure Criteria under the Climate Bonds Standard. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Water%20Background%20Paper%20Final_17Jan21.pdf

Chicago

Climate Bonds Initiative. Water Infrastructure Criteria under the Climate Bonds Standard. 2021. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Water%20Background%20Paper%20Final_17Jan21.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Bonds Initiative |title=Water Infrastructure Criteria under the Climate Bonds Standard |date=January 2021 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Water%20Background%20Paper%20Final_17Jan21.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatebondsinitiative2021water, author = {{Climate Bonds Initiative}}, title = {{Water Infrastructure Criteria under the Climate Bonds Standard}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2021}, month = jan, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/drupal-files/files/Water%20Background%20Paper%20Final_17Jan21.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }