Search Climate Insights Directory

The labelled green loan market in Australia and New Zealand is in its early stages, with 14 labelled green corporate loans recorded since 2018. While the loan market is significantly larger than the bond market, labelled bonds have historically led in sustainable finance. Growth is being driven by bank green lending targets, increasing ESG awareness among corporates, and institutional investor demand. The report highlights the potential for green loans to fund early-stage projects and the rise of sustainability-linked loans (SLLs), which incentivise overall corporate ESG performance rather than specific assets. It also notes the expansion of green consumer loans, particularly for energy-efficient homes and electric vehicles, and suggests regulatory incentives and improved corporate ESG frameworks to accelerate market development.

The report details the operational framework for mapping green finance in India, focusing exclusively on mitigation activities. It defines the scope of 'green finance' to include climate finance and environmental objectives like resource conservation, while explicitly excluding adaptation, biodiversity, and pollution abatement. The methodology describes the classification of sources (public, private, and international), the identification of financial instruments (grants, loans, and equity), and the sectoral coverage spanning power generation, energy efficiency, and sustainable transportation. It specifies the data sources used, including Union and State budgets, OECD databases, BNEF, and reports from Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs).

The report finds that tracked green finance in India averaged INR 124 thousand crores (USD 19 billion) per year for FY 2017-2018, representing only about 10% of the estimated annual requirement for climate action. Domestic private finance was the largest contributor, with the vast majority of funds flowing into renewable energy, specifically solar and wind power. While public finance increased due to government initiatives and the role of Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), the report highlights significant data gaps and the need for a standardized green finance taxonomy and a national measurement, reporting, and verification (MRV) system to scale investments.

In 2019, the global green bond market reached a record USD258.9 billion in issuance, a 51% increase over 2018. The market saw significant growth in non-financial corporate issuance and the entry of eight new countries. Europe led in cumulative volume, while the USA, China, and France remained the top individual countries by amount issued. Energy, buildings, and transport dominated the use of proceeds, accounting for 82% of the total. The report also notes a rise in green sukuk and the increasing importance of external reviews and Climate Bonds Standard certification.

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.

Japan's green bond market saw record growth in 2019, with issuance increasing by 70% over 2018 to JPY786.7bn. Financial corporates dominate the market, and proceeds are primarily allocated to buildings, energy, and transport. The market is characterized by a high rate of external reviews, predominantly Second Party Opinions from Sustainalytics. The Ministry of the Environment (MOEJ) supports the market through guidelines, information platforms, and a financial subsidy programme for external review costs.

The report assesses the Philippines' green finance landscape, highlighting a strong private-sector-led green bond market and significant investment potential in renewable energy, low-carbon transport, sustainable water, and waste management. It details existing policy frameworks, such as the ASEAN Green Bond Standards, and provides a sample pipeline of 79 green projects to attract international and domestic capital.

The 2020 Drawdown Report argues that the world can reach the Drawdown point by the mid-2040s if existing climate solutions are deployed with high ambition. The analysis categorizes 76 solutions into three primary areas: reducing emissions sources (electricity, food/agriculture, industry, transport, and buildings), strengthening natural carbon sinks (terrestrial, coastal, and oceanic), and improving society through health and education. The report emphasizes that these solutions are interconnected and that the net operational savings significantly outweigh the implementation costs, with estimated savings of 95.1–145.5 trillion USD against implementation costs of 22.5–28.4 trillion USD.

The report identifies 76 climate solutions categorized into reducing emission sources, reinforcing carbon sinks, and improving social equity. It argues that the world can reach the Drawdown point by the mid-2040s if existing solutions are scaled rapidly, noting that the net operational savings of these solutions outweigh implementation costs by four to five times. Key high-impact solutions include reducing food waste, improving health and education, and transitioning to renewable energy like wind and solar. The document emphasizes that these solutions are interconnected and require 'accelerators' such as policy changes and capital shifts to achieve the necessary scale and speed.

The South African energy services market, comprising small-scale embedded generation (SSEG), energy storage, and energy efficiency, is projected to reach a total available market value of approximately R125 billion by 2035. Growth is driven by rising Eskom electricity tariffs, falling costs of renewable technologies, and supportive regulatory shifts, such as the unbundling of Eskom and the 2019 Integrated Resource Plan (IRP). Key emerging opportunities include the bundling of rooftop solar PV projects to attract larger investors, solar PV for energy resellers in property developments, and the retrofitting of existing buildings for energy efficiency. While the C&I sector currently dominates solar installations, the energy storage market is expected to grow significantly through grid management and resource adequacy applications, potentially valued between R15 billion and R30 billion by 2030.

The Nigerian Green Bond Market Development Programme, a partnership between FMDQ Securities Exchange, Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), and FSD Africa, aims to develop a corporate green bond market in Nigeria over three years. Since its June 2018 launch, the programme has facilitated capacity building for regulators, investors, and issuers, and supported the creation of the SEC's Green Bond Listing Rules. Key achievements include the issuance of the first CBI-certified corporate green bond in Africa by Access Bank PLC and a long-tenured green infrastructure bond by North South Power. The report emphasizes the need for financial incentives, such as tax credits, to offset the costs of external reviews and to attract private capital to bridge Nigeria's significant infrastructure gap.

The Mahindra Group aims for carbon neutrality by 2040, with 20 of its companies committing to science-based targets. In FY 2017-2018, the group reduced total emissions by 14% to 618,439 t CO2 and increased renewable energy use by over 100%. The group maintains a $418 million green product portfolio spanning electric mobility, renewables, and sustainable real estate.

The report highlights New Zealand's climate leadership through policies like the Zero Carbon Bill 2019 and the ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling. It notes that while the green bond market is small, it is growing, with total green and sustainability debt from New Zealand entities reaching NZD3.7bn. The document identifies significant investment needs in infrastructure, particularly in Auckland, and explores five key sectors for green investment: renewable energy, low-carbon transport, sustainable water management, sustainable waste management, and green buildings.

The 2019 Green Infrastructure Investment Opportunities report for Australia highlights a significant pipeline of projects in renewable energy, low carbon transport, sustainable water, waste management, and green buildings. While Australia has seen a boom in solar and wind investment and a growing green bond market, the report notes a continued reliance on high-carbon infrastructure and a lack of integrated national emissions reduction priorities. It argues for a greater role for the superannuation sector and the adoption of 'brown-to-green' transition strategies for carbon-intensive industries to meet Paris Agreement targets.

Freddie Mac issued a USD 435 million green CMBS on June 28, 2019, to support the Multifamily Green Advantage suite of loan offerings. The proceeds target building improvements such as LED lighting, insulation upgrades, and water-efficient fixtures. Loans from 2019 onwards must meet a 30% savings reduction threshold and a 15% energy efficiency requirement. Reporting on the proceeds is conducted monthly via the master servicer and trustee, with annual public performance reports provided by Freddie Mac.

Sustainalytics concludes that the Assicurazioni Generali Green Bond Framework is credible, impactful, and aligns with the Green Bond Principles 2018. The framework targets six eligible categories: green buildings, renewable energy, energy efficiency, clean transportation, sustainable water management, and recycling, re-use & waste management. Generali has established a Green Bond Committee to oversee asset selection and commits to annual reporting on both allocation and impact. The report also notes Generali's broader sustainability targets, including increasing green sector investments by EUR 3.5 billion by 2020 and reducing internal GHG emissions by 20% by 2020.

Vigeo Eiris conducted a limited assurance procedure on the Republic of Chile's 2019 first Green Bond, concluding that it conforms in all material respects to the Climate Bonds Standard (CBS) version 2.1. The bond's proceeds are intended for 14 eligible green expenditures across solar energy, low carbon land transport, green buildings, and water management. The verification confirmed the existence of a documented decision-making process led by a Green Bond Committee and verified that the nominated projects meet specific sector criteria, such as a 30% carbon reduction target for buildings and a limit of 15% non-renewable electricity for solar projects. The report also validates the internal processes for tracking proceeds and the commitment to post-issuance compliance reviews.

In Q1 2019, global green bond issuance reached USD 47.9 billion, a 42% increase over Q1 2018. The market was driven by non-financial corporates, particularly in the energy sector, and dominated by developed markets in the USA, France, and Canada. Energy, buildings, and transport accounted for 81% of the use of proceeds. The report also highlights that while post-issuance reporting is common among larger issuers and those with external reviews, there is a lack of consistency in the metrics used to report environmental impacts.

The report evaluates green economy (GE) investments in Georgia, focusing on buildings, agriculture, and tourism. Using the SAVi methodology, it demonstrates that while traditional financial analysis suggests these investments may not be profitable, incorporating environmental, social, and economic externalities reveals a high sustainable internal rate of return (S-IRR) of 84% and a sustainable net present value (S-NPV) of approximately GEL 20.4 billion.

The report argues that tokenizing the equity or debt of sustainable infrastructure projects can lower the cost of capital and make these assets more bankable. It identifies key value propositions including reduced underwriting and secondary market fees, enhanced transparency through IoT integration, and the democratization of investment via fractional ownership. However, it notes significant regulatory hurdles regarding security token compliance and technical challenges concerning the reliability of the Ethereum blockchain and the 'oracle problem' of linking on-chain tokens to off-chain physical assets. The document provides examples of Swiss start-ups like Tokenestate, Smart Valor, and Mt Pelerin that are developing security token standards and marketplaces to facilitate this transition.