Green bonds on the capital market

Are they tools of green financing or greenwashing?

Abstract

Among debt securities, green or climate-awareness bonds are playing an increasing role in financing many financial and non-financial enterprises. Both issuers and investors are increasingly seeking to integrate environmental considerations into financing their operations and, on the investor side, into the overall structure of their investments either. The aim of this paper is to describe how green bonds have evolved, the development of the regulatory environment in which they can be issued, and the supervisory expectations the issuer can meet. The study will also show how can the supervisory authorities enforce voluntary commitments of the enterprises concerned within the current regulatory framework to avoid greenwashing.