EU’s first green bond issuance raises 12 billion euros
The European Commission issued its inaugural green bonds Tuesday, raising 12 billion euros ($13.8 billion) from a sale that attracted strong demand from investors.
The EU’s executive branch is planning to issue up to 250 billion euros in green bonds by the end of 2026 as part of its plans to finance the 27-nation bloc’s recovery from the coronavirus crisis.
The EU commission said the 15-year bond was more than 11 times oversubscribed, with books exceeding 135 billion euros.
Johannes Hahn, the commissioner in charge of budget and administration, said “this marks the largest green bond order book ever in global capital markets, and the largest green bond ever issued, not in Europe, but in the world.”
To finance the recovery stimulus, the EU’s executive arm said it will raise from capital markets up to an estimated 800 billion euros by the end of 2026, of which 30% is to be raised via green bonds. In total, the bloc’s 27 nations have agreed on a 1.8 trillion-euro budget and pandemic recovery package.
The EU has the ambition to become a leader in the market of green bonds, which are reserved for sustainable investment.