Market Blog #9: Mid-July green bond issuance at USD8.9bn: first Uruguayangreen bondSpecial Webinar Event! Green Bond Pledge – A briefing for Cities.
Thursday 26th July 12:00 PM EDT/09:00 AM PDT/17:00 PM BST co-hosted by CDP and Climate Bonds Initiative
Info and Registration here.

Highlights:• Atlas Renewable Energy issues first Uruguayan green bond
• USD8.9bn green bonds in July so far• New issuers from Austria, Indonesia, Uruguay and the US

Green bond deals across the globe*The maximum bond count (491) now reflects the number of bonds issued by the country with the largest amount ofbonds so far in 2018, as opposed to the cumulative number of bonds issued in 2018 to date.

2018 Issued

83.6 Bn

USD Bn0408 Bn
100200436 Bn
300

Go here to see the full list of new and repeat issuers in July.

400

Total Outsanding
500

Total Issued

At a glance
As of mid-July 2018, monthly green bond issuance totalled USD8.9bn. 27% of deals by count came from emerging
markets, including the first green bond from a Uruguayan issuer.
After a two-month absence, sovereign issuance made its comeback with France’s Green OAT fourth re-opening ofEUR4bn, accounting for over half of monthly issuance to date.
Government-backed issuance also kept a high pace at 22%, with deals coming from repeat issuers
KommuneKredit (Denmark), Lietuvos Energija (Latvia) and NRW.BANK (Germany) and new issuer PT Sarana Multi
Infrastruktur (Indonesia).

Monthly volume by issuer type
18
16
Loan

14

Sovereign

12

Government-backed entity

10Local government

USD Billions

8Development bank6

Non-financial corporate4Financial corporate

2ABS

01234567> The full list of new and repeat issuers here.
> Click on the issuer name to access the new issuer deal sheet in the online bond library.

New issuers
Atlas Renewable Energy (USD108.4m) issued a two-tranche green private placement (longest dated bond: 24years). The deal achieved GB1 Green Bond Assessment from Moody’s. Proceeds will be allocated to refinancing
two solar projects, El Naranjal (50MW) and Del Litoral (16MW), in Uruguay with an off-take arrangement with
Administración Nacional de Usinas y Trasmisiones Eléctricas, the state-owned Uruguayan electricity company.
The issuer is committed to reporting annually on the actual generation of the solar plants and CO2 emissions
avoided compared to a baseline emissions factor that adjusts over time as the country's grid compositionchanges.
Climate Bonds view: We welcome the first green bond from a Uruguayan issuer! It’s good to see impact reporting
practices adhering to market standards.

Public Service Company of Colorado (USD700m), a US utility company, issued a senior secured bond in twotranches (longest dated bond: 30 years), labelled as “First Mortgage Bonds” and identified as a green bond in theprospectus. The deal is secured by a first mortgage lien on the issuer’s electric utility properties. The prospectus
sets out a framework defining eligible green expenditures, management of proceeds and reporting of bothproceed allocation and key environmental features of the financed green expenditures. The deal will fund thedevelopment, construction and operation of a 600 MW wind generation facility in Colorado at Rush Creek, as wellas the related transmission infrastructure.
Climate Bonds view: As the proceeds of the bond are used exclusively to finance eligible green assets, labelling it
more prominently as green would have enhanced its visibility. An external review would provide another layer ofassurance on the green credentials of the financed projects.

PT Sarana Multi Infrastruktur (IDR355bn/USD25m), State backed Indonesian infrastructure financier SMI, issued
a two-tranche green bond (longest dated bond: 5 years). The deal benefits from a CICERO Second Party Opinion.
Proceeds will be allocated to refinancing three light rail transit projects, two mini hydro power plants, a water
treatment plant and irrigation systems. A new co-power generation power plant has also been proposed forfinancing under this debut issuance.
Eligible categories under the Green Bond Framework include renewable energy, transport, land use, water, wasteand energy efficiency infrastructure improvements targeting at least 10% energy consumption reduction
compared to the national average. Energy generation from fossil fuels is explicitly excluded from the framework.
The land use category does not set out any eligibility requirements for irrigation systems, and in its SPO, CICERO
raises concerns over how irrigation systems may “overdraw water fresh supplies, thereby threatening drinking
water sources and fragile ecosystems” and assigns this category a “medium green” score.
Climate Bonds view: We agree with CICERO on the concerns related to irrigation systems and would like to see
more details on the types of financed irrigation systems, as well as on the use of the irrigated land. We will keep
monitoring this deal’s proceed allocation to ensure that all financed projects are aligned with the Climate Bonds
Taxonomy. In particular, if the co-generation facility turns out to be fossil fuel powered the bond may be excluded
from our database.
This is the third green issuance in short order from Indonesia following their world first Sovereign Green Sukuk inFebruary. You can find out more in our recent Green Infrastructure Investment Opportunities Indonesia Report.

Raiffeisen Bank International AG (EUR500m/USD584m), Austria, issued a 3-year green bond, which benefits
from a Sustainalytics Second Party Opinion. The bond will finance/refinance existing and future loans in Central
and Eastern Europe that fund renewable energy, green buildings, clean transport, water management and related
energy efficiency projects/assets. Geothermal projects must have direct emissions below 100gCO2/kWh, while
only sustainable biomass sources that do not deplete carbon pools, biodiversity, nor compete with food sources
are eligible. Hydropower assets of up to 20MW are also eligible. Green buildings are required to either haveobtained a LEED Gold, BREEAM very good or DGBN/ÖGNI Gold certification, or belong to the country’s top 15%
most efficient buildings according to local building codes, building years and EPC certificates. Refurbishedbuildings must either lead to a twostep improvement in the energy label or a 30% increase in energy efficiency(kWh/m2). Energy efficiency improvements of fossil fuel technologies are explicitly excluded.
Climate Bonds view: The framework defines detailed eligibility criteria for each category, setting a high standard
for the green credentials of the financed projects. We would like to see green bond frameworks aiming for asimilar level of specific requirements going forward. For hydropower, it would be good to see issuers reporting onpower density ratio or annual emissions (gCO2/kWh) of the asset.

New issuers - deals issued prior to 2018
China Power Clean Energy Development Co (CNY800bm/USD116m) issued a 3-year green panda bond in May
2017. CCXI provided the Second Party Opinion (not publicly available). The funds raised were earmarked for theconstruction and operation of energy-saving and clean-up projects aimed at improving energy conservation andemissions reduction, as well as energy supply infrastructure. The projects will support solar energy development
and agroforestry.
Compared with traditional coal-fired stations, the proposed projects are expected to save around 0.5 million tonsof standard coal per year and reduce 0.86 million tons of CO2, as well as reducing nitrogen oxides and sulphur
dioxide emissions by 1357.6 tons and 2560.3 tons respectively.
Climate Bonds view: The issuer has the expertise in clean energy generation and we are pleased to see detailed
expected environmental impacts of the projects. We encourage issuance that promote clean energy and reducecarbon emissions. However, we would like to see more information on the proposed projects. We also hope thatthe issuer will keep a close eye on the use of proceeds and put in place a comprehensive reporting regime.

Repeat issuers
••
•
••
•
•

Asian Development Bank (ADB): SEK1.5bn/USD169m (June); EUR600m/USD701m (July)
Atrium Ljungberg: SEK500m/USD57m
Guangdong Huaxing Bank: CNY2bn/USD300m
KommuneKredit: EUR750m/USD877m
Lietuvos Energija: EUR300m/USD352m
Province of Québec: CAD500m/USD381m
Tus-Sound Environmental Resources: CNY455m/USD69m

Trends2018 monthly issuance volume
2015

USD Billions

1050JanFebMar

CBI certifiedAprMay

CBI defined

ExcludedJunJul

Pending and excluded bonds
We only include bonds with at least 95% proceeds dedicated to green projects that are aligned with the Climate
Bonds Taxonomy in our green bond database. Though we support the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG)
overall and see many links between green bond finance and specific SDGs, the proportion of proceeds allocatedto social goals needs to be no more than 5% for inclusion in our database.
Issuer Name

Amount issued

Issue date

City of Los Angeles

USD276.2m

12/07/2018

Reason for exclusion/
pending
Sustainability/Social bondShanxi Jincheng Anthracite
Mining Group

CNY1bn/USD157.7m

08/03/2018

Not aligned

Guangzhou Yuexiu Holding LTD
Olam

CNY2bn/USD316.7m
USD500m

27/02/2018
26/03/2018

Wilmar

USD200m

27/11/2017

Working capital
Sustainability-linked creditfacility
ESG linked credit facility

AccorHotels

EUR1.2bn/USD1.4bn

29/06/2018

ESG linked credit facility

MAPFRE

EUR1bn/USD1.2bn

26/02/2018

ESG linked credit facility

DanoneEUR2bn/USD2.5bn

12/02/2018

ESG linked credit facility

Philips

EUR1bn/USD1.2bn

12/04/2017

ESG linked credit facility

Red Eléctrica España

EUR800m/USD949.3m

21/12/2017

ESG linked credit facility

Fromageries Bel

EUR520m/USD949.3m

21/12/2017

ESG linked credit facility

Agricultural Development Bankof China
Grupo Siro

CNY4bn/USD452m

02/05/2018

Not aligned

EUR240m/USD280.6m

12/07/2018

Credit Agricole CIB

USD1m

29/06/2018

Impact loan/ESG linkedcredit facility
Pending

World Bank (IBRD)

SEK3bn/USD339m

17/07/2018

Pending

IFC

GBP350m/USD463m

12/07/2018

Pending

Green bonds in the market•••••••

ADB: closing on 16 July
Terna: closing on 23 July
North American Development Bank: closing on 24 July
Faro Energy: Certified Climate Bond
State Bank of India: Certified Climate Bond
Empresa de Energía del Pacífico (EPSA): Certified green bond program, up to COP420bn
San Francisco Public Utilities Commission: Certified Climate Bond

Investing NewsThe IFC and Moroccan capital markets authority (AMMC) published guidelines for new financial instruments
aimed at addressing climate change and promote positive social outcomes. These include updated guidelines for
Morocco’s green bond market and a new framework for the social and sustainability bond market.
Six of the largest sovereign wealth funds with a combined USD3tn in assets launched a framework on how tointegrate climate change into their investment decisions.
Dutch banks ABN Amro, ING and Rabobank developed Circular Economy Finance Guidelines, which are designed
to become a common framework for financing circular economy-related projects/assets.
Nasdaq Nordics launched an ESG version of its benchmark OMX Stockholm 30 index.
Nigeria’s DMO to list the country’s ground-breaking sovereign green bond on the Nigerian Stock Exchange
tomorrow Friday 20th June.
Results from a recent financial sector survey reveal pathways to achieving USD1tn in cumulative US private
investment in renewable energy by 2030.

Green Bond Gossip
The Qatar Central Bank (QBC) is seeking to issue green bonds to promote sustainable development, according to aDoha Bank top official.

Mytrah Energy is planning to issue around 26bn rupees worth of green bonds in the next two years.
Green investment firm Business Venture Partners (BVP) eyes EUR7.5bn green bond issuance to fund renewableenergy projects.
In a break from the past major US utility SFPUC is actively seeking international investor interest for its latest(Climate Bonds Certified) green municipal water bonds. Environmental Finance has the story.

Reading and Reports
Former California Deputy Treasurer Mike Paparian has penned a guest post for the Climate Bonds. Green BondPledge: A Climate Finance Framework for Cities & Subnationals. Don’t miss it!
Moody’s latest report “Green Bonds – Sovereign - Sovereign green bond market on course for critical mass, butchallenges remain” provides an outlook on the sovereign green bond market.
Versik Maplecroft’s latest report on “How can I tap sovereign green bond opportunities?”
The Blockchain Climate Institute released their book on “Transforming Climate Finance and Green Investment
with Blockchains”.
Top renewable financiers reveal pathway to USD1tn in US investment by 2030, according to a recent Forbes
article.
The first episode of “The Drawdown Agenda” podcast explores in detail the key carbon-reduction solutions acrossthe seven sectors at the heart of Drawdown— energy, food, women and girls, transport, materials, building andcities, and land use- as well as emerging solutions.
Episode 8 of the ESG Podcast: Guidance needed to nurture the green bond market (part one) explores how green
bond financing is progressing in Asia.
Climate Bonds Reports:
Can US municipals scale up green bond issuance? Likely, “yes” identifies potential US Muni green bond issuers byconsidering the upcoming bond maturities of climate-aligned municipal entities in the water, waste, transport,renewable energy and land use sectors.

Moving Pictures
Watch Femi Onifade, Head, Secondary Markets at the Nigerian Stock Exchange discuss tomorrows Sovereign
Green Bond listing with CNBCAfrica. 5:18mins
This Ted Talk presents a new way to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
Watch how this company turns shipping containers into an energy efficient floating student housing.
Take 0:55 mins to learn how this Brazilian city has almost reached zero waste in 2018.

‘Till next time,Climate Bonds
Disclaimer: The information contained in this communication does not constitute investment advice in any form and the Climate
Bonds Initiative is not an investment adviser. Any reference to a financial organisation or debt instrument or investment product is for
information purposes only. Links to external websites are for information purposes only. The Climate Bonds Initiative accepts noresponsibility for content on external websites.
The Climate Bonds Initiative is not endorsing, recommending or advising on the financial merits or otherwise of any debt instrument orinvestment product and no information within this communication should be taken as such, nor should any information in thiscommunication be relied upon in making any investment decision.
Certification under the Climate Bond Standard only reflects the climate attributes of the use of proceeds of a designated debtinstrument. It does not reflect the credit worthiness of the designated debt instrument, nor its compliance with national or internationallaws.
A decision to invest in anything is solely yours. The Climate Bonds Initiative accepts no liability of any kind, for any investment anindividual or organisation makes, nor for any investment made by third parties on behalf of an individual or organisation, based inwhole or in part on any information contained within this, or any other Climate Bonds Initiative public communication.