China Leads Global Green Bond Issuance YTD

China has led the issuances of green bonds this year till date. China has accounted for 13.4% of global green bond issuances raising $26.1bn as per Refinitiv data. This is in comparison to $10.1bn during the same period in 2020 and almost as much as the total issuance last year at $27bn. The pace of issuance is the fastest in five years with Refinitiv saying that the increase was driven by the swift recovery of China’s economy from the pandemic and Beijing’s push to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. Besides the issuances, SCMP notes that global investors are increasingly looking to add Chinese debt to their portfolios as the country’s $18tn bond market further opens up to foreign investors. Other large issuers of green bonds this year include Germany, USA and France as seen in the chart.