Barclays Hits £1 Billion Green Bond Target, Commits To £1 Billion More
British banking giant Barclays announced Tuesday that it had reached its target of investing £1 billion in green bonds, and has committed to £1 billion more.
Just over a year ago, Barclays announced that it would invest a minimum of £1 billion in green bonds over the following year, which was in and of itself more than double its then-current investment portfolio of £430 billion. Announced on Tuesday, Barclays revealed that it had not only reached its £1 billion target, but that it had committed to invest a further £1 billion — one of the largest commitments (and re-commitments) by any institution globally.
“As the Green Bond market matures this instrument presents an increasingly powerful proposition and one that has the potential to push green projects including renewables forwards at pace,” Tushar Morzaria, Group Finance Director, Barclays, said. “We’re pleased to be an early adopter in the fast-growing and exciting area and will continue to support this market through our investments, products and services.”
The green bonds sector has relatively exploded over the past few years, reaching $36.59 billion in 2014, and according to an October report from the Climate Bonds Initiative, has already reached $29.66 billion this year. The Climate Bonds Initiative raised that figure by the end of the month to just over $31 billion, well on its way to reach the expected yearly total of $40 billion.
Recent news has also boosted the global commitment to green bonds, with EY and Thompson Reuters both signing on to partner with the Climate Bonds Initiative, followed soon after by the announcement from British banking conglomerate HSBC pledging to commit $1 billion to a green bond portfolio of its own.
“Addressing the risk of catastrophic climate change requires commitment; Barclays have shown that commitment can be combined with investing that achieves required returns at the same time,” said Sean Kidney, CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative. “They have shown that, when it comes to the green bonds space, green can and does go with good investment. The one billion marker is a celebration of that.”
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