Friday

29th Mar 2024

EU's chance to be world's biggest green-bond issuer

  • This move would make the EU the largest supra-national provider of liquidity for a green safe asset - drastically increasing the size of the global green bond market compared with total issuance in 2019

The European Commission is now considering issuing 'green bonds' for the first ever time - aiming to help investors wanting to pick sustainable options, while supporting Europe's green transition.

At their July summit, EU leaders reached a landmarked agreement which allows the commission to borrow up to €750bn on the capital markets to support member states to recover from the coronavirus pandemic - and a further €150bn for unemployment insurance schemes.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Get the EU news that really matters

Instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

While the fund is supposed to be aligned with both the Green Deal and the Paris Agreement's objectives under the "no harm" principle, green groups and other critical voices are calling for the debt to be used for environmental projects.

The head of the European Parliament's environment committee, MEP Pascal Canfin from Renew, wants at least €250bn of the recovery fund to be 'green bonds' - where proceeds are used for environmental projects - starting with €100bn in 2021.

"Today we know that at least €200bn of the EU recovery plan will finance green investments, thus enabling an issuance of green bonds of the same amount," Canfin told EUobserver on Monday (14 September).

This move would make the EU the largest supra-national provider of liquidity for a green safe asset - drastically increasing the size of the global green bond market compared with total issuance in 2019.

"The EU Commission must seize the opportunity to become by far the largest green bonds-issuer worldwide, I hope that the president Ursula von der Leyen will be able to make a decision in this direction very quickly," Canfin said.

First and biggest?

"This would not only contribute to significantly boost the green bonds markets globally but it will also strengthen the role of the union as a global trendsetter for green finance," he added, saying that the markets are eager for institutional issuance of green bonds.

"[Potential investors] have no concerns that the market could absorb such a volume of green bonds," he also said.

The green bond market has exploded in recent years - but it still constitutes only 3.7 percent of the total global bond issuance.

The French MEP is also calling for an independent committee in charge of monitoring what the capital raised through the green bonds will concretely finance - an initiative that Paris implemented in 2016 for its first issuance of sovereign green bonds.

EU green bonds come under consideration after Germany's issuance of its first green bonds in early September - by which it seeks to raise up to €11bn alone this year. France, for its part, has issued around €27bn in green bonds in the past three years.

In fact, nearly 40 percent of total green bond issuance was located in the EU between 2007 and 2020.

Additionally, experts estimate that EU green issuance would also stimulate private sector green bond-issuance, since the EU tends to leverage private money for its investments, for example, by co-financing projects with the private companies.

However, a report from the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) revealed on Monday that there is no evidence that green bond issuance is directly linked with a reduction of carbon emissions overtime - at least at company and corporate level.

For example, Spanish oil company Repsol became the first refiner to sell green bonds in 2017 - which raised greenwashing concerns.

The BIS report calls for a standardised rating system that ranks how green companies actually are.

Opinion

Why hydrogen is no magic solution for EU Green Deal

Why is the EU Commission promoting a lose-lose (pay more, get less) strategy rather than the straightforward use of green electricity, where it will deliver bigger CO2-reductions and for less money?

Opinion

Why is building renovation 'Cinderella' of EU Green Deal?

The renovation of old buildings will be crucial to the success of the European Green Deal and a clean, robust economic recovery. Unless there is serious commitment from policymakers, we risk the Green Deal turning into a pumpkin.

Von der Leyen promises Green Deal will be 'true recovery'

The European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen wants to cut at least 55 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 - saying the Green Deal is a "cultural project" that goes beyond simply cutting emissions.

Experts threaten to quit over new EU 'green finance' rules

Nine members of the expert group advising the European Commission on sustainable finance rules say criteria for gas, forestry and bioenergy are "a clear contradiction to climate science" - threatening to step down if lobbying and politics prevail over science.

Opinion

EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania

Among the largest sources of financing for energy transition of central and eastern European countries, the €60bn Modernisation Fund remains far from the public eye. And perhaps that's one reason it is often used for financing fossil gas projects.

Latest News

  1. Kenyan traders react angrily to proposed EU clothes ban
  2. Lawyer suing Frontex takes aim at 'antagonistic' judges
  3. Orban's Fidesz faces low-polling jitters ahead of EU election
  4. German bank freezes account of Jewish peace group
  5. EU Modernisation Fund: an open door for fossil gas in Romania
  6. 'Swiftly dial back' interest rates, ECB told
  7. Moscow's terror attack, security and Gaza
  8. Why UK-EU defence and security deal may be difficult

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersJoin the Nordic Food Systems Takeover at COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersHow women and men are affected differently by climate policy
  3. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  5. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  6. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  2. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries
  3. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  4. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  5. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  6. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA

Join EUobserver

EU news that matters

Join us