China sees sharp rise in green bonds

Issuance more than doubled in 2021 but remains well below level needed to finance the country’s transition

China is embracing green finance to fund its decades-long transition to a net-zero economy, with green bond issuance more than doubling last year. But the amount of capital remains far from the scale needed to meet the multitrillion-dollar cost of the transformation. Green bond issuance in China—the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases—surged in 2021, growing by 124pc year-on-year to 488 bonds, according to Dagong Global Credit, one of China’s largest debt rating agencies. The total value of these bonds rose by 176pc, to RMB608bn ($96bn). On top of this, 15 provinces and municipalities across the country issued RMB201bn of green bonds last year. Some 47pc went to the clean energy sect