Economic Impacts of Green Finance: Is it possible to measure the productivity of Green Bonds in China?

The report investigates whether green bonds in China provide tangible benefits over non-green bonds, focusing on 'hard' factors like financing costs, project design, and execution. Through market analysis and case studies of State Grid, Swire Properties, and ICBC, the author finds mixed evidence: while some sectors show lower costs and larger issuance sizes, these advantages are not universal. The report concludes that current public data and reporting standards are insufficient to conclusively prove the productivity of Chinese green bonds, recommending standardized monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) systems.

• The Chinese green bond market has experienced rapid growth, increasing from US$29 billion in 2016 to US$55.5 billion in 2019, though it represents only approximately 2% of the overall bond market in the country as of February 2019.
• The Chinese green bond market is characterized by a complex regulatory environment with inconsistent standards, a lack of comprehensive monitoring, reporting, and verification (MRV) procedures, and a misalignment with international standards, such as allowing 'clean coal' for financing.
• Market-level analysis shows mixed results regarding financing advantages; while Industrials, Utilities, and Financial Institutions generally saw lower costs (YTM at issuance) for green bonds, there were no clear trends regarding the term of the bonds.
• Case studies of specific issuers contradict broad sectoral trends, showing no consistent cost advantages for green bonds over non-green bonds for State Grid, Swire Properties, or ICBC.
• Evidence on environmental integrity is inconclusive due to poor data quality; for example, in a study of State Grid's 2016 green bonds, less than 20% of the electricity transmitted through certain funded UHV networks in 2017 was renewable power.
• Green bonds have enabled some novel sustainability activities, such as ICBC's low carbon transport projects and Swire Properties' energy-efficient building developments, though it remains unclear if these would have proceeded without green finance.

APA

Stigliani, U. G. (2020). Economic Impacts of Green Finance: Is it possible to measure the productivity of Green Bonds in China? Climate Policy Initiative. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Measuring-the-impact-of-green-bonds-in-China-CPI-EF-July-2020.pdf

Chicago

Stigliani, Udetanshu Gaia. Economic Impacts of Green Finance: Is it possible to measure the productivity of Green Bonds in China? Climate Policy Initiative, 2020. https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Measuring-the-impact-of-green-bonds-in-China-CPI-EF-July-2020.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Stigliani |first1=Udetanshu Gaia |title=Economic Impacts of Green Finance: Is it possible to measure the productivity of Green Bonds in China? |publisher=Climate Policy Initiative |date=June 2020 |url=https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Measuring-the-impact-of-green-bonds-in-China-CPI-EF-July-2020.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stigliani2020economic, author = {Stigliani, Udetanshu Gaia}, title = {{Economic Impacts of Green Finance: Is it possible to measure the productivity of Green Bonds in China?}}, institution = {Climate Policy Initiative}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://www.climatepolicyinitiative.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Measuring-the-impact-of-green-bonds-in-China-CPI-EF-July-2020.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }