Wind turbines at a wind farm beyond solar panels at the Weesow-Willmersdorf solar park, operated by EnBW Energie Baden-Wrttemberg AG, in Werneuchen, Germany, on August 2, 2022. Photographer: Liesa Johannssen-Koppitz/Bloomberg.
Annual issuance of global sustainable bonds reached $1 trillion for the second time in 2024, fueled by record sales of green and sustainability notes. And sustainability chiefs on Wall Street expect borrowers to continue tapping the booming global debt market to fund sustainability goals, even as the Trump administration, which is projected to be less friendly to environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) initiatives, takes office.
Last year’s issuance of green, social, sustainability, and sustainability-linked bonds was 10 percent above 2023’s levels and the second-highest since the market’s 2007 inception, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. However, the 4,490 offerings that priced in 2024 represents the most deals ever, thumping the old high of 3,729 set a year earlier.
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Sales of green bonds, the largest category of sustainable debt by volume, reached $571 billion, topping 2021’s $563.5 billion. Issuance of sustainability notes—whose proceeds can be used to fund both green and social initiatives—jumped to $239.7 billion last year. The prior record was 2021’s $235 billion. Social bonds had their second-busiest year in 2024. But issuance of controversial sustainability-linked bonds dropped for a third year, reaching its lowest level since 2020.
ISSUANCE
| November 2024 | December 2024 | 2024 Total | Year-over-Year Change | ||
| Green bonds | $37.93 billion | $17.78 billion | $571.02 billion | 8.7% | |
| Green bond principles | $37.93 billion | $17.64 billion | $569.69 billion | 8.7% | |
| ESG muni | $3.76 billion | $4.06 billion | $65.46 billion | 15.1% | |
| Sustainability bonds | $11.34 billion | $4.49 billion | $239.69 billion | 29.0% | |
| Social bonds | $7.73 billion | $1.98 billion | $158.37 billion | 12.6% | |
| Sustainability-linked bonds | $4.36 billion | $0.54 billion | $42.10 billion | -38.3% | |
| Sustainability-linked loans | $20.82 billion | $32.95 billion | $442.37 billion | 31.0% | |
| Green loans | $15.81 billion | $19.71 billion | $177.26 billion | 11.0% | |
| Note: Bonds includes active and matured corporate and government bonds, including preliminary securities. | |||||
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