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Echoes of the launch of the Green Bond Transparency Platform
05/10/2021 Since 3 years

The recent launch of the Green Bond Transparency Platform (GBTP) by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and IDB Invest, had a wide repercussion and was referred to by multiple news media around the world.

Forbes Central America highlighted that globally, the green bond market reached a record of 1.1 trillion dollars in issuance in 2020, of which Latin America and the Caribbean accounts for only 2%. Green bonds are a financial instrument of great potential in Latin America and the Caribbean in view of the enormous financing needs it faces to adapt to climate change, so it is essential to increase their transparency to attract investors. This is why, according to this newspaper, the GBTP has been launched to promote the harmonization and standardization of information on green bonds, as it offers data on the performance, impact and methodologies. The Spanish newspaper El País emphasized that this digital tool will improve confidence in investments in projects with a positive environmental impact. According to the Mexican newspaper Milenio, the platform promotes the harmonization and standardization of information on green bonds by providing data on the performance, impact and methodologies of each green bond in the region.

The aim of the platform is to incentivize investment through green bonds in the region, according to Times News Express, considering that the green bond market reached a record level of issuance in 2020.

The specialized site Environmental Finance, noted that the platform will seek to be taxonomy and methodology neutral, and that a striking and innovative feature is its plan to use Blockchain as a means to improve the platform’s long-term efficiency. This will also enable commercial banks to develop business models for investments in climate change mitigation technologies as explained by the International Climate Initiative.

The news agency EFE America edition, emphasized that this Platform will increase market transparency in the region. In the face of the recent crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the growing threat of climate change with the consequent increase in investor interest in this type of financial instruments, the Brazilian newspaper UOL highlights that this platform offers an alternative to the complex situation of the public treasuries.

The Colombian newspaper La República highlighted the words of Juan Antonio Ketterer, Head of the Connectivity, Markets and Finance Division of the IDB, “A greater degree of transparency is fundamental to increase the degree of confidence of investors that Latin America and the Caribbean are making adequate green investments, and are therefore willing to increase their investments in the region”.

Gestión de Perú highlighted the words of Gema Sacristán, Business Director of BID Invest, “There is more and more interest in sustainable bonds, at the beginning it was only international investors and now we are seeing more and more Latin American investors”.

Estrategias y Negocios echoed the words of Sean Kidney, CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), who said that the GBTP “helps to spread best practice in the green bond market at a crucial time when governments and other institutions are focusing on the green transition. The platform will contribute […] in particular with regard to post-issuance reporting, which is valuable for a range of stakeholders, including investors.

Ambientum mentioned that while there are currently five countries on the platform: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica and Mexico with a total of 24 bonds, Ketterer envisions that the “expectation is that in a short period of time we can have 100%”.

This online tool supports the IDB’s efforts to scale up the green bond market in the region according to America Retail.

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