Bonds to finance the sustainable blue economy. A practicioner’s guide

Detalles

The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, together with the International Capital Markets Association (ICMA), the UN Global Compact, the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) have developed a global practitioner's guide to bonds to finance the sustainable blue economy.

This voluntary guide provides market participants with clear criteria, practices and examples for the issuance and lending of "blue bonds". Gathering input from financial markets, the ocean industry and global institutions, it provides information on the key components involved in launching a credible "blue bond", how to assess the environmental impact of "blue bond" investments, and the steps needed to facilitate transactions that preserve market integrity.

The new global guidance helps to:

- Define the typology of blue economy and eligibility criteria
- Suggest key performance indicators;
- Present the latest case studies from the field; and
- Highlight the critical need to increase financing to achieve Sustainable Development Goal 14 and other global sustainability targets.

The development of a sustainable blue economy, including preventing the decline of marine fisheries, expanding low-carbon aquaculture, increasing offshore renewable energy and decarbonising shipping, is essential to address the triple planetary crisis of rapid climate change, nature loss and pollution. The ocean is a vital heat and carbon sink that absorbs about 31% of carbon dioxide emissions and regulates the global climate.
The guidance is based on existing global market norms underpinning global sustainable bond markets and is also based on the pre-existing specific blue guidance: ICMA's Green Bond Principles, UNEP FI's Sustainable Blue Economy Financing Principles and associated Blue Finance Guidance, the Practical Guide for Issuing a Blue Bond, and the United Nations Global Compact Sustainable Oceans Principles The United Nations, the Asian Development Bank's Ocean Finance Framework and Green and Blue Bond Framework, and the IFC Guidelines for Blue Finance.