EU set to extend leadership in green bond market
Brexit has not helped the bond issuance capital of Europe, but the UK was already behind the curve
This year is predicted to be another big bumper year for green bonds, with the European Commission considering including green bonds in its Covid-19 recovery programme. The vast majority of euro-denominated green bonds are issued in Europe. And euro green bonds account for c.40pc of all global green bond issuance since the market’s inception in 2007, according to the Climate Bonds Green Bond Database. Swedish bank SEB predicts that governments will issue green bonds in such volume during 2021 that the combined value of $500bn will be the same as half of all green issuance to date. The European Central Bank set up a climate team in late January and is investigating the option of issuing gree
Also in this section
12 March 2026
Role of world’s largest carbon cap-and-trade market under scrutiny as war in Iran threatens to drive EU energy costs to unsustainable levels
10 March 2026
Europe urgently needs to bring more projects to FID, as CCS investors warn they might divert capital to faster-growing regions
9 January 2026
A shift in perspective is needed on the carbon challenge, the success of which will determine the speed and extent of emissions cuts and how industries adapt to the new environment
2 January 2026
This year may be a defining one for carbon capture, utilisation and storage in the US, despite the institutional uncertainty
