The concept of transition bonds began as an idea to sell bonds that were difficult to market as green bonds, mainly natural gas bonds, but has evolved into an opportunity to accelerate decarbonisation efforts
PALE GREEN
Transition bonds can be issued by oil and gas companies, as well as cement, steel, mining and other “brown” carbon-intensive industries looking to fund projects to cut their carbon footprints with an eye to becoming green
GREEN BOND BOOM
A record $255 billion in green bonds and loans were issued in 2019.Transition bonds, which can complement green bonds and demonstrate the step-by-step process of the clean energy transformation, are an idea whose time may have come
KEY QUOTE
Transition bonds need to be combined with rigorous targets, measurements and scrutiny to avoid the risk of greenwashing and companies seeking to buy time we don’t have ...
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Many believe the ECB and other central banks should bring climate considerations into the rulebook governing what they support and how
China has pledged to peak carbon emissions by 2030 at the latest, but its economic plan for 2021-2025 is expected to approve the building of more coal-powered plants
Politically there is broad support in Denmark for financing the green transition through taxes and a carbon emissions tax proposal has been welcomed by parties across the political spectrum, but industry opposition could ultimately quash the idea
The world’s development banks are funnelling ever-greater volumes of finance into clean energy — but the challenge of shifting entire economies away from climate-wrecking activity and towards actions that align investment goals with those of the Paris Agreement requires a more holistic approach
An EU taxonomy to define green investments is expected to enter into force in 2021, but some experts want it to be used immediately to inform stimulus packages aimed at dealing with the social and economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic
COVID-19 may have reduced emissions in the short-term, but much more needs to happen to slash fossil fuel use to meet climate targets
To create demand for sustainable finance, governments should integrate climate criteria into their procurement and in how they draft policies and regulations
The UK is often cited as a leader in the transition to a clean energy economy, even though some British public money still flows to oil and fossil gas projects overseas
Europe is considering taking the bold step of introducing a border carbon adjustment tariff on goods imported from regions where carbon pricing is lacking, placing trade right in the middle of its climate ambitions