Abstract
In the last few decades, climate change, environment protection, inclusive livelihoods, gender parity, sustainability, circularity, and responsible businesses, among others are all themes that have captured discussions worldwide. Whether it is at the inter-governmental, state, or municipal council level, it has been realized the world over, that for humanity to sustain itself, a hard look needs to be taken at the fundamental principles of how our society operates. Collective steps need to be taken to develop resilience, and there is an urgent need to formulate sound adaptation and mitigation strategies to fight the onslaught of climate change. Green bonds have been critical in advancing the ethos of sustainable finance globally. However, many other asset classes are playing in the market that are oftentimes complimentary to the green bonds, or in other cases prove as viable alternatives to the same. Policy Performance Bonds, in which returns are linked to ESG outcomes, or Sustainability Linked bonds (SLBs) where one feature whether it is a coupon, maturity, or redemption hinges on whether and to what extent issuers reach ESG goals within a stipulated time, could be positive alternative instruments to green bonds. Brown industries such as mining or heavy machinery are not environment-friendly, and will never be as they inherently have a negative environmental impact; thus, they never qualify for issuance of a green bond. A transition bond can help these industries make their operations environment-friendly wherever possible.
Presenters
Karminder MalhotraAnalyst, Government and Social Impact - State Capacity Transformation, MicroSave Consulting Private Limited, Delhi, India
Details
Presentation Type
Theme
KEYWORDS
GREEN BONDS, CLIMATE FINANCE, CATALYTIC FINANCE, SUSTAINABILITY, CLIMATE CHANGE, GLOBAL
