Scaling Up Green Bond Markets for Sustainable Development: An Executive Briefing for the Public Sector to Stimulate Private Sector Market Development for Green Bonds

Organisation:
Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System (UN Environment Inquiry), Climate Bonds Initiative

The green bond market - bonds whose proceeds are used for green projects, most commonly climate mitigation and adaptation projects - is growing rapidly, with outstanding issuance at US$66bn in June 2015. This growth needs to be accelerated to keep pace with the climate challenge.

This briefing paper offers a range of options for building green bond markets which ultimately will help policymakers, regulators and public financial institutions meet their infrastructure investment needs, capital market development aims, and targets for climate action and environmental protection. This paper is the first result of a partnership between the Climate Bonds Initiative, UNEP Inquiry and the World Bank Group that will produce a guide to practical options for policy makers to scale up green bond markets for sustainable development.