Green bonds - the proceeds of which are dedicated to environmentally-friendly projects - reached a record $255 billion of issuances in 2019 and are projected to reach $300 billion in 2020, Moody's Investors Service analysts said in a 3 February report.
“The 2019 results and 2020 estimates bring the vital international milestone of $1 trillion in annual green investment by 2021/2022 into sight,” said Climate Bond Initiative's Sean Kidney of the report.
Moody's noted that governments and regulators are increasingly focused on providing further structure and clarity to the sustainable finance market as their focus on climate change and sustainability grows.
The green bond market already benefits from comprehensive guidance and frameworks such as the ICMA's Green Bond Principles and the Climate Bonds Initiative, as well as external reviewers, opinion providers and rating agencies.
Moody's expects an even stronger growth in 2020, encouraged by the EU Green Bond Standard which is set to be published later this year.
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