Moody’s Expects Green Bonds Issuance Of $50 Billion In 2016

Global rating agency Moody’s is predicting another record year for green bonds issuance in 2016.

Green bonds worth $50 billion are expected to be issued in 2016, Moody’s Investors Service recently stated. The ratings agency expects that the recent upswing in green bond issuance to continue into the next year as well. According to Moody’s, green bonds worth a total of $42.4 billion were issued in 2015.

Late last year, Moody’s released a report stating that India and China were expected to lead green bonds issuances. “We expect India, along with China, to be a prominent driver of regional issuance in coming years, given ambitious targets on building out renewable energy capacity,” said Henry Shilling, a Moody’s Senior Vice President.

According to Moody’s, a total of 105 issuers raised $42.4 billion in 197 different transactions in 2015, with the average funds raised per transaction was around $215 million, and the largest issuer raised a total of $17 billion.

According to the Climate Bonds Initiative, however, a record $41.8 billion worth of labelled green bonds were issued across the world in 2015, an increase of 13% over 2014, and a huge jump over the total issuance in 2012, which was only $2.6 billion.

In 2015, while developed markets, like the European Union and the US remained the dominant player in the global green bonds market, emerging markets like India and China also made their mark. The European Union recorded issuance of around $18 billion, while the US witnessed issuance of green bonds worth $10.5 billion. In India, four entities issued bonds worth $1.1 billion, while two entities in China issued $1 billion worth of green bonds.