Since the pandemic hit, the social dimension has been brought to the fore, with a steep uptick in social bond issuances as a result. Given the new sense of urgency in addressing climate change and societal issues, the strong growth in green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds is likely to continue.
With the evolving European initiatives and regulatory framework on sustainable finance, including the upcoming EU Green Bond Standard (EU GBS), Europe is in the driving seat of sustainable finance worldwide. Leading international standards for green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds recommend that issuers of such bonds undergo an external review of their bond framework and their allocation report. The draft EU GBS proposes to make the pre- and post-issuance external review mandatory, and furthermore introduces the idea of a market-based registration scheme for external verifiers.
As we have just entered the “make or break decade for climate action”, as stated by European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, we need to make finance part of the solution to our global challenges and contribute to making finance sustainable by default.
Since the issuance of the first Green Bonds by the EIB in 2007, swiftly followed by the ones issued by the World Bank in 2008, the market has grown, every year, at an incredible speed.
Luxembourg has always been at the forefront of sustainable finance and has played a pivotal role when it comes to Green Bonds and lately also to social, sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds. Launched in 2016, the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX) is the world’s first and leading platform dedicated exclusively to sustainable financial instruments.
Giuseppe Corsini
Assurance Partner, Capital Markets Leader and Sustainable Finance, PwC Luxembourg
Tel: +352 49 48 48 4957