Climate Bonds Move Forward

Over the past two years, The Climate Bonds Initiative has been creating a new class of bonds that can finance a rapid transition globally to a low-carbon economy. "Bonds have allowed us to finance the building of Europe’s sewer systems, the growth of America’s highway system, and the financing of two World Wars. We can now use Climate Bonds to finance the quick, global transition required to head off runaway climate change," explains James Cameron, Vice Chair of Climate Change Capital. "Putting the emphasis on private financing allows a different perspective. In place of always talking about the ‘costs’ of climate change, we can talk instead about investment opportunities," notes Nick Robins, HSBC Climate Change Centre of Excellence. "The transition to a low-carbon economy presents capital with what is likely to become the largest commercial opportunity of our time: investing in clean energy and low carbon infrastructure," he adds. Most of the bonds will be bought by institutional investors, but there are plans to make them available to retail investors too. The Climate Bonds Initiative, which was initiated by the International Network for Sustainable Financial Markets, an international think tank, now operates as part of the investor-led Carbon Disclosure Project. […]

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