Brian Chappatta, Columnist

Green Bonds Are Finally Sprouting Up All Over the Globe

It’s looking as if 2019 will be a banner year for financing environmentally friendly projects.

June 18, 2019 at 10:30 AM UTC

Brian Chappatta is managing editor of Bloomberg News' leveraged finance and distressed debt teams. He was previously managing editor and team leader of its wealth group. Before that he was a Bloomberg Opinion markets and finance columnist and a bonds reporter for Bloomberg News.

The diversity of borrowers coming to market stands out as an important trend.
Photographer: Evaristo Sa/AFP/Getty Images

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After more than a decade, it appears green bonds are finally taking root.

So far this year, countries, companies and local governments across the globe have sold about $89 billion of bonds to fund projects that are good for the environment, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Jaimin Patel estimates the current run rate will put global non-asset-backed green bond issuance at more than $182 billion for the year, which would easily top 2018’s $133 billion and 2017’s $128 billion. More important, it looks as if the market is returning to steeper growth after last year’s stagnation.