Green Bonds Guide for City Policymakers in Developing Countries

The document highlights a significant financing gap for cities in developing countries, where fewer than 20% have access to local capital markets and only 4% can access international markets. While the global green bond market grew exponentially from USD 3.2 billion in 2012 to USD 44 billion in 2015, only USD 2.3 billion has been linked to city-based projects in developing countries. The guide outlines two primary strategies for accessing these funds: direct issuance for creditworthy cities (potentially using guarantees or cornerstone buyers) and indirect access for others by aligning projects with the frameworks of multilateral development banks, commercial banks, or corporations.

• Cities in developing countries face severe constraints in accessing capital markets; as of November 2016, less than 20% could access local capital markets and only 4% were creditworthy enough for international markets.
• The global green bond market experienced rapid growth between 2012 and 2015, with annual issuance increasing 13-fold from USD 3.2 billion to USD 44 billion, and a projection of USD 75 billion by the end of 2016.
• Investment in city-based projects in developing countries represents a small fraction of the green bond market, totaling USD 2.3 billion, which is 1.7% of total flows since 2007 and 6% of all flows to developing countries.
• Direct municipal green bond issuance by cities in developing countries is extremely rare, with the USD 137 million bond from Johannesburg, South Africa, being the only example as of November 2016; consequently, 94% of finance for such projects flows indirectly via issuers like the World Bank and Asian Development Bank.

APA

Climate Policy Initiative (2016). Green Bonds Guide for City Policymakers in Developing Countries. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/green-bonds-guide-city-policymakers-developing-countries/

Chicago

Climate Policy Initiative. Green Bonds Guide for City Policymakers in Developing Countries. 2016. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/green-bonds-guide-city-policymakers-developing-countries/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Policy Initiative |title=Green Bonds Guide for City Policymakers in Developing Countries |date=13 December 2016 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/green-bonds-guide-city-policymakers-developing-countries/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatepolicyinitiative2016green, author = {{Climate Policy Initiative}}, title = {{Green Bonds Guide for City Policymakers in Developing Countries}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2016}, month = dec, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/publication/green-bonds-guide-city-policymakers-developing-countries/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }