EBRD, Deutsche Bank team up to issue Environmental Sustainability Bonds
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and Deutsche Bank AG have launched Environmental Sustainability Bonds to finance environmental projects in the EBRD’s countries of operations.
The proceeds of the bonds will be specifically earmarked to support a portfolio of ‘green’ projects aimed at promoting sustainable development and clean energy technologies, while improving energy efficiency, water and waste management, environmental services, and public transport.
As part of this ‘green’ project portfolio, the Environmental Sustainability bonds will fund the rehabilitation of municipal water infrastructure to reduce water consumption and waste water discharges; rehabilitation of power and heating plants and transmission and/or distribution facilities to reduce total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, by upgrading the current industrial installations.
The bond is denominated in Australian dollars and pays monthly at a fixed rate coupon of 4.80 per cent. The new AU$ 25 million (€18.1 million) issue, maturing in 2014, was launched under the EBRD’s Global Medium-Term Note Programme.
The first issue of the EBRD’s Environmental Sustainability Bonds has been arranged by Deutsche Bank AG., and distributed by SMBC Friend Securities Co., Ltd, Japan to Japanese retail and institutional investors.
The EBRD places a very high priority on investments in sustainable energy, financing energy efficiency projects as well as investments in renewable energy in a drive to boost competitiveness of economies in the region and also to mitigate the impact of climate change. Around 20 per cent of the Bank’s annual investments are dedicated to sustainable energy projects.
The EBRD promotes new technologies that result in significant GHG emission reductions by supporting fuel-switching from carbon-intensive, using coal, heating oil, and oil shale, to less carbon-intensive fuels as natural gas. The EBRD also supports making improvements to solid waste management at collection, recycling, storage and disposal stages and supports methane capture projects on waste landfills and waste water treatment plants for a more efficient industrial water use.
In line with the EBRD’s power and energy strategy, the Bank makes energy efficiency investments in public transport and public housing sectors, including investments in fuel-efficient public transport fleet or more energy-efficient infrastructure – insulation, lighting, heating and cooling systems.
Within forest management and agribusiness sectors, the Bank extends funding to projects building up a sustainable and stress-resilient agriculture, including investments in water-efficient irrigation, reforestation, watershed management, deforestation and soil erosion prevention.
As of October 2010, the EBRD portfolio of primary environmental investments stood at €1.9 billion.