Tuesday 9 July 2019

Germany issued €6.6bn of green bonds in 2018

A total of €6.6 billion (£5.3bn) in green bonds was issued in Germany last year, placing the country in fourth position in annual country rankings.

Renewable energy topped the use of proceeds at 60%, followed by low carbon buildings (37%) and greener transport (2.6%), according to a new report from Climate Bonds Initiative.

The five biggest green bond issuers were: KfW €1.6bn (£1.3bn), Berlin Hyp €1bn (£0.8bn), Deutsche Hypo €0.6bn (£0.48bn), LBBW €0.5bn (£0.4bn) and Commerzbank €0.5bn (£0.4bn).

The report suggests 2018 also saw a 20% increase in financial corporate issuance as more banks, including Commerzbank and DZ Bank, entered the market with green programmes financing renewable energy projects.

The Climate Bonds Initiative forecasts Germany will remain in the global top five in green bonds issuance at the end of 2019, based on current trends.

It was followed by the US, China and France last year.

Viktoria Gerling, responsible for sustainability bonds in the capital market business of DekaBank said: “With climate change turned from a threat into an acute emergency, we need to deploy and finance ambitious climate mitigation and adaptation projects and assets at scale, at speed.

“Germany has already shown tremendous leadership at home, in Europe and beyond. We now need to bring that leadership from the political and energy utility space into the finance space. This report depicts the status quo, lessons learned and opportunities going forward.”