Download the background to gothenburg`s initiative

GREEN BONDS
Foto: Göteborg Energi
THE BACKGROUND TO GOTHENBURG’S INITIATIVE
Gothenburg has moved from being a city of heavy industry with many environmental
problems to offering internationally recognised green system solutions.
The city has now taken a further important step to facilitate environmental initiatives
by issuing Green Bonds, a financial instrument for environmental investments.
THE BACKGROUND TO GOTHENBURG’S INITIATIVE
The starting shot for the city’s green initiatives goes back to 1987, when
the Minister for the Environment called parts of the city “hell’s waiting room”.
The response was to set up a special delegation – known as Gothenburg’s
Environmental Project – to get to grips with the problem. Many projects and
initiatives were then realised within the municipality and the worlds of business,
politics and academia.
This then led to the Gothenburg region today offering world-class solutions in the
fields of energy, sustainable urban development, chemistry, waste and transport. In
order to continue investing in climate-oriented solutions, the City of Gothenburg
decided to issue Green Bonds, which are bonds dedicated to various environmental
projects. Gothenburg was the first city in the world to offer this financial instrument.
In September 2013, it issued Green Bonds for SEK 500 million, and a further issue
of SEK 1.8 billion was made in June 2014.
ABOUT GREEN BONDS
Green Bonds are a financial tool designed to counter and reduce the impact of
climate change. The initiative comes from the World Bank, which launched these
bonds in 2008 as a part of the process of stimulating and coordinating the activities
of the public and private sectors aiming to combat the effects of climate change.
These bonds mean that capital is dedicated to various green projects.
Green Bonds offer the same ROI as other bonds under similar conditions while at the
same time contributing to a better environment and greater awareness of climaterelated challenges and solutions. So far, Green Bonds constitute only a tiny part
of the total bond market, but they are growing at an explosive rate. In 2014, these
bonds were issued to a value of USD 20 billion.
In addition, more and more actors are issuing Green Bonds: whereas in the past only
institutions such as the World Bank and the European Investment Bank used to issue
them, now a whole series of companies are also doing so.
RESULTS AND TRENDS
The following projects have been financed in Gothenburg by Green Bonds:
• Lackarebäck waterworks and cleaning filters – water treatment using
ultrafiltration, using the largest ultrafilter ever built in Scandinavia
• GoBiGas – large-scale production of biogas by gasification
• Electric vehicles for the city’s administrative offices and companies
The projects financed via Green Bonds aim to contribute to Gothenburg reaching its
environmental targets.
AIM
The Green Bonds initiative aims to spread the risks in the city’s loan portfolio more
widely while at the same time investing in green projects. The aim is for Green Bonds
to become a natural part of our environmental work and to become a tool for the City
of Gothenburg to reach its environmental and climate targets.
The City of Gothenburg has hitherto issued Green Bonds worth SEK 2.3 billion. The
idea is to issue new bonds every year.
WHY GREEN BONDS ARE IMPORTANT
Gothenburg uses Green Bonds to reach investors who want to show their green
credentials. This also leads to greater interest in the environmental projects currently
under way in Gothenburg. Interest from investors, both in Sweden and internationally,
has proved to be tremendous.
Although Green Bonds do not lead to more investments, they create a link between
investments and the environment and thus speed up green initiatives.
WELCOME TO GOTHENBURG!
Website: h
ttp://finans.goteborg.se/en/greenbonds/
www.greengothenburg.se
IN THE GOTHENBURG REGION WE THINK GREENER
With roots stretching back to the days of heavy industry, our region has made the
successful transition from an industrial heartland, to a greener, cleaner waterfront
metropolis. It is this journey that has created a world-leading greentech cluster in
the Nordic region. Green Gothenburg shares this environmental know-how, while
helping foreign representatives initiate contact with green tech companies in the
Gothenburg region. Together, we think greener.
A sustainable city. Open to the world.
WWW.GREENGOTHENBURG.SE
[email protected]