— Reuters
LONDON: Investors have piled into climate-friendly assets this year despite policy and regulatory rollbacks in the United States and Europe, as artificial intelligence (AI) drives a boom in energy infrastructure demand.
Global green bond and loan issuance has reached a record US$947bil so far this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg Intelligence.
That’s as stock market gauges for renewables are set for their first annual gains since 2020, outperforming the S&P 500 by a wide margin, while shares of power-grid technology companies remain in favour.
The flows are notable in a year when US President Donald Trump backed fossil fuels and dismantled clean-energy subsidies and legislation.
Europe also has rolled back some of its toughest environmental rules amid concerns about growth and competitiveness.
Still, clearer policy signals and an almost 4% expected increase in global electricity demand, driven by AI, cooling and electrification needs, are lifting investor optimism.
“Green investments are increasingly becoming viewed as core infrastructure and industrial plays, not just niche environmental, social and governance (ESG) trades,” said Melissa Cheok, associate director for ESG investment research at Sustainable Fitch.
“Capital is likely flowing toward areas with clear revenue visibility, policy backing and structural demand such as grid upgrades and renewables tied to electrification.”
Asia-Pacific companies and government-linked issuers raised US$261bil from green debt, up about 20% from a year earlier, with China and India backing the rollout of renewables, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
China had a record US$138bil in green bond issuance, led by its biggest lenders. It also debuted a sovereign offering in London earlier this year.
The so-called greenium – the lower borrowing costs on green bonds – is most evident in Asia Pacific, with some issuers getting more than a 14-basis-point discount for using a green label in November, according to BloombergNEF.
Green bonds are often used by companies to raise money for switching to renewable energy or lower-carbon transportation.
BNP Paribas SA and Credit Agricole SA are this year’s leading underwriters of green bonds, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.
The amount of outstanding green bonds has grown at a 30% compound annual rate over the past five years and issuance now accounts for about 4.3% of the global total, LSE Group researchers said last month.
Easing US interest rates and refinancing needs may boost global green bond sales to as much as US$1.6 trillion next year, said Crystal Geng, ESG research lead for Asia at BNP Paribas Asset Management.
Green stocks have been a market leader this year. Clean-energy indexes from S&P Dow Jones Indices and WilderShares have surged 45% and 60%, respectively, though both remain below their 2021 peaks.
US solar and battery storage stocks, including SolarEdge Technologies Inc, have been among the top performers, while wind turbine makers have led gains in China and Germany.
India has emerged as a hotspot for renewable-energy initial public offerings (IPOs), with 11 listings raising more than US$1bil and another six companies seeking more than US$3bil.
Last year, 14 renewable energy companies raised US$2.4bil through IPOs.
Not all markets are benefitting.
US green debt issuance fell 7% to US$163bil this year and supranational bond sales declined by a similar amount. Fundraising in Germany was steady at roughly US$79bil.
While India saw record green loan volumes of US$7bil, strong interest from foreign banks has intensified competition, squeezing financing margins by 5% to 10% on renewable energy and other projects, said Jeanne Soh, head of structured finance for Asia at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp.
Sales of sustainability-linked debt slumped about 50% this year to US$165bil amid greenwashing concerns, Bloomberg Intelligence data show.
Transition bond issuance more than halved to US$10.9bil for hard-to-abate sectors. The trends are likely to reverse over the next two years, said Xuan Sheng Ou Yong, a client portfolio manager for sustainable investing at Robeco in Singapore.
Changes to European fund rules will let asset managers define what qualifies as a sustainable investment, opening the door to emissions-cutting investments in higher-polluting sectors, he said.
Overall, global sustainable debt volumes stood at about US$1.6 trillion this year, down more than 8% from 2024, the Bloomberg Intelligence data showed.
Separately, more than US$500bil of social bonds were sold in the US tied to the Government National Mortgage Association, known as Ginnie Mae, which guarantees principal and interest on mortgage-backed securities. — Bloomberg
