The first in what looks to be a series of bond transactions supporting sustainable infrastructure projects went on the market recently, raising €500 million ($578 million) in an eight-year issue by the European Investment Bank. The bonds will support long-term loans for projects in water, sanitation and flood control.
The European Investment Bank is the European Union’s Luxembourg-based nonprofit bank, and this bond issue, the first of what the EIB is calling Sustainability Awareness Bonds, follows a successful decade-long run of so-called “green bonds.” The Climate Awareness Bonds series, which first floated in 2007, that have funded to date 160 projects tied to green energy. Capitalization totals €18 billion ($US 20 billion) and counting. “These are sectors that are crucial in the sustainable development context,” EIB spokesman Richard Willis says.