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