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The Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) addresses the lack of consistency and ambition in transition finance by introducing a certification framework for corporate transitions. The proposal argues that for a company's transition to be credible, it must meet five criteria: alignment with the Paris Agreement, a robust plan, tangible action, internal oversight, and external reporting. The document suggests a three-tier labeling system (Green, Green Transition, and Transition Transition) and outlines a two-step assessment method for complex companies to ensure their overall performance aligns with global net-zero goals by 2050.

The Climate Bonds Initiative proposes a certification framework to ensure corporate transitions are aligned with the Paris Agreement. The framework focuses on five hallmarks: Paris-aligned goals, robust plans, implementation action, internal monitoring, and external reporting. It distinguishes between 'Green Transition' (already aligned) and 'Interim Transition' (catching up) to provide clarity for investors and prevent greenwashing in the growing market of Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs) and transition bonds.

The Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) outlines a proposal to certify 'credible' corporate transitions by requiring companies to meet five specific attributes: Paris-aligned goals, robust plans, implementation action, internal monitoring, and external reporting. This framework aims to bridge the gap between high-level market guidance and complex corporate assessment frameworks, providing a standardized, science-based approach to evaluate whether a company's transition is sufficiently ambitious and robust to align with global net-zero goals by 2050.

The Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) proposes a certification framework to ensure company decarbonisation is rapid and robust enough to align with the Paris Agreement. The proposal introduces five 'hallmarks' of a credibly transitioning company: Paris-aligned targets, robust plans, implementation action, internal monitoring, and external reporting. This framework aims to bridge the gap between light-touch market guidance and overly complex entity-level assessments. CBI suggests differentiating between 'Green Transition' (already aligned with sectoral pathways) and 'Interim Transition' (catching up, with a proposed grace period until 2025). The framework emphasizes absolute measures tied to common sectoral transition pathways over relative 'best-in-class' benchmarking and requires the inclusion of scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.

In 2020, China's green bond market saw a 21% decrease in total issuance to 289.5 billion RMB, partly due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of pandemic-related bonds. Despite the decline, the market showed progress in aligning domestic standards with international ones, notably through the 2020 draft Green Bond Endorsed Project Catalogue which removed clean coal projects. Non-financial enterprises and government-supported institutions showed strong growth, while financial enterprise issuance declined. A significant gap remains between domestic and Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) definitions, primarily because some domestic bonds allow funds to be used for general corporate operating capital. The report also highlights a massive stock of unlabelled climate-related bonds, totaling 325 billion USD, primarily in the transport sector, presenting a major opportunity for future green labelling and refinancing.

The report provides a comprehensive overview of China's green asset-backed securities (ABS) market as of 2020, detailing the regulatory environment, market trends, and specific case studies. It highlights that while the market has grown significantly, it remains a small portion of the overall green bond market and is dominated by state-owned enterprises. The document suggests improvements in data transparency, standardization of contracts, and the expansion of green residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities to attract more international investors.

The report provides a comprehensive overview of China's green securitisation market, noting its growth to 85 deals totalling RMB115bn by the end of 2020. It details the regulatory landscape involving the PBoC, CBIRC, CSRC, and NAFMII, and identifies state-owned enterprises as the primary originators. The analysis highlights renewable energy and low-carbon transport as the dominant collateral themes and suggests improvements in transparency, standardisation of green loans, and credit rating soundness to attract more international investors.

The Latin America and Caribbean (LAC) sustainable finance market grew significantly between 2019 and 2021, with total GSS issuance reaching USD 48.6 billion by June 2021. Green bonds remain the dominant instrument, though social and sustainability bonds have expanded rapidly, partly driven by COVID-19 relief efforts. Chile, Brazil, and Mexico are the primary markets, together accounting for 77% of all GSS issuance. While energy is the most funded sector, there is increasing diversification into low-carbon transport and sustainable agriculture. The region is also seeing a rise in sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) and the development of national green taxonomies to standardize climate-aligned investments.

The sustainable finance market in Latin America and the Caribbean grew significantly between 2019 and 2021, with total VSS emissions reaching USD 48.6 billion by June 2021. Chile, Brazil, and Mexico dominate the market, accounting for 77% of all VSS emissions. Green bonds remain the largest segment (USD 30.2 billion), while social and sustainability bonds have seen rapid growth, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic. Energy is the most funded sector, though transport and land use are significant. The report also highlights the emergence of sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) and the ongoing development of national green taxonomies in countries like Chile, Colombia, and Mexico.

The Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) sustainable finance market grew significantly between 2019 and 2021, with total VSS emissions reaching USD 48.6 billion by June 2021. Chile, Brazil, and Mexico dominate the region, accounting for 77% of all VSS emissions. Green bonds are the largest segment (USD 30.2 billion), primarily driven by energy projects and sovereign issuances in Chile. The report also highlights the rise of social and sustainable bonds, the emergence of sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs), and the ongoing development of national green taxonomies in countries like Chile, Colombia, Mexico, and the Dominican Republic.

The report analyzes 75 green bonds totaling USD 75.9bn issued in H1 2021, finding that green bonds generally achieved higher book cover and greater spread compression than vanilla equivalents. It highlights a significant increase in allocations to green investors, reaching 66%, and provides evidence of a 'greenium' for 26 out of 33 non-sovereign bonds. Additionally, the report examines sovereign green bond issuance and concludes that green labels can enhance secondary market liquidity, particularly in the EUR utility sector.

The sustainable debt market saw record-breaking growth in H1 2021, with combined labelled issuance reaching USD 496.1 billion. Green bonds led the growth, particularly in developed markets, while sustainability-linked bonds (SLBs) emerged as a rapid growth segment for corporates. The report also highlights the nascent state of transition bonds and the need for standardized, ambitious definitions to avoid 'transition-washing'.

The report examines how green bonds and transition finance can support South Africa's shift from a coal-dependent energy system to a low-carbon economy. It highlights the critical role of the two largest emitters, Eskom and Sasol, and proposes various financial models, including sovereign green bonds and asset-backed securities, to attract international capital while managing the social implications of a 'Just Transition'.

The Electrical Grids and Storage Criteria provide a framework for certifying bonds that finance the construction, upgrade, and operation of electricity transmission, distribution, and storage infrastructure. Eligibility is based on two main components: a mitigation component, which ensures assets contribute to greenhouse gas reduction or support renewable energy integration, and an adaptation and resilience component, which requires issuers to assess and mitigate physical climate risks. The criteria cover a wide range of assets, from high-voltage transmission lines to battery storage facilities, and include specific methodological notes for determining system eligibility based on emission factors or generation capacity. To maintain certification, issuers must provide pre-issuance, post-issuance, and annual reporting to demonstrate ongoing compliance with these standards.

The document outlines the development of certification criteria for electrical grids and storage to mobilise private capital for low-carbon infrastructure. It establishes that most modern grid investments are eligible if they support the integration of renewables or are part of a system on a trajectory toward decarbonisation, adopting the EU taxonomy as a baseline. It specifically excludes pumped hydropower and hydrogen storage from this sector's scope. The criteria also mandate that issuers demonstrate climate resilience by assessing physical risks and implementing mitigation measures over the assets' operational lifetimes.

The Chinese green bond market issued USD 44bn in 2020, a 21% decrease from 2019, partly due to the pandemic and a shift toward social-themed 'Pandemic Prevention and Control' bonds. While China remains a global leader, a significant portion of its issuance (USD 20.2bn) is not aligned with Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) standards, primarily because local regulations allow proceeds to fund general working capital. However, the 2020 Green Bond Catalogue consultation draft marked a shift toward international alignment by removing 'clean coal' projects. Non-financial corporates, led by Beijing Jingneng Clean Energy, are becoming more prominent issuers, and there is a substantial pool of unlabelled climate-aligned debt, particularly in the transport sector, that presents refinancing opportunities.

The 2020 research identifies a global universe of USD 913.2 billion in unlabelled climate-aligned bonds from 420 issuers across 45 countries. Transport is the dominant theme, accounting for 55% of the volume, followed by Energy (24%) and Water (10%). China is the largest single source, representing 36% of the global total, while Developed Markets (DM) account for 50%. The report emphasizes a significant opportunity for refinancing, as over 40% of these bonds will mature by 2024, potentially increasing the labelled green bond market by 65% within nine years if transitioned. The analysis also highlights the role of the EU Taxonomy in improving disclosure and the potential for green hydrogen and electric vehicle infrastructure to drive future issuance.

The report examines the green infrastructure landscape of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), highlighting significant investment needs across sectors such as low-carbon transport, renewable energy, and green buildings. It details the role of green finance, specifically green bonds and asset-backed securities, in bridging the funding gap between public budgets and the capital required for climate-resilient infrastructure. The document provides a sample pipeline of 70 green and potentially green projects and offers six strategic recommendations to unlock private capital, including the harmonisation of green definitions and the promotion of local government green bonds.

The report highlights significant investment potential in the Greater Bay Area's green infrastructure, particularly in low-carbon transport, renewable energy, water management, waste management, green buildings, and new infrastructure. It emphasizes the need to move beyond public funding and PPPs by leveraging green bonds, green ABS, and international capital markets, while recommending the unification of green definitions across the region to attract global investors.

The Brazilian sustainable debt market has grown to a cumulative USD 10.8bn, with green bonds dominating at 84% of the market. Land use is a primary driver of this growth, representing 67% of total volume across green, sustainability, sustainability-linked, and transition labels. Forestry is the leading agriculture-related theme with USD 6.4bn in funding, followed by agriculture (USD 848m) and bioenergy (USD 832m). While non-financial corporates lead issuances, financial institutions and government-backed entities are increasingly entering the market. The document highlights the emergence of performance-linked instruments like Sustainability-Linked Bonds (SLBs) and transition bonds, though it notes concerns regarding transparency and the need for science-based transition pathways to avoid greenwashing.