International Finance Association "Global Sustainable Bond Issuance to Exceed $1 Trillion This Year"

[Photo by Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Park Byung-hee] As environmental, social, and governance (ESG) management emerges as a hot topic, the International Institute of Finance (IIF) expects the issuance of sustainable debt to exceed $1 trillion this year.

According to major foreign media on the 14th (local time), the IIF announced that the issuance of sustainable bonds in the first half of this year has nearly doubled compared to last year. The total issuance last year was $700 billion, but this year it surpassed $680 billion in just the first half. Sustainable bonds refer to bonds issued for environmental and social investments.

Kadija Mahmood, an economist at the IIF, stated, "As carbon neutrality receives focused attention, investments in low-carbon energy and technological innovation are rapidly increasing," adding, "Accordingly, the issuance of ESG bonds is rising, and investor interest is growing."

Among sustainable bonds, green bonds, which are issued to raise funds for climate or environmental-related projects, accounted for the largest share at 35%. Notably, Germany, China, and France issued a significant amount of green bonds.

The issuance of social bonds increased more than threefold, reaching $140 billion. The European Union (EU) introduced the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) in March this year, which influenced the increase in social fund issuance. Under the SFDR, financial institutions are required to disclose sustainability information when reporting on investments and financial products.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.