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Lost in transition: the climate revolution needs a new type of bond

Green bonds do their job well, but we need another market to help brown companies change their ways

Brown to Green: we need a new type of bond for the fossil-fuel transition
Brown to Green: we need a new type of bond for the fossil-fuel transition Photo: Getty Images

If you go back a few years, green bonds hardly registered on investors’ radars. Now they are an established option for fixed income investors. From nearly nothing a decade ago, annual green bond issuance could hit $200bn this year.

That sounds like plenty, but it’s a drop in the ocean compared with what is needed. The InterGovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimates an annual expenditure of $2.4tn just in energy systems is needed between now and 2040 to meet the ambition of keeping global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. Trillions and trillions more are needed across the global economy.

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