The World Bank Group announced the launch of “green bonds,” which are designed to raise funds for climate change mitigation and adaptation projects in developing countries. The World Bank says this type of financial innovation is needed to generate additional public and private sector investment in climate change in the developing world. The bond is seen as an example of the growing interest in “sustainable and socially conscious ” investing among individual and institutional investors.
To date, the World Bank Group has raised USD 350 million from Scandinavian investors.
The green bonds will support the World Bank’s climate change mitigation and adaptation projects, including:
Mitigation
- Rehabilitation of power plants and transmission facilities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions
- Solar and wind installations
- Funding for new technologies that result in significant reductions in GHG emissions, such as technologies related to coal gasification, methane capture, and carbon capture and storage
- Greater efficiency in transportation, including fuel switching and mass transport
- Waste (methane emission) management and construction of energy efficient housing
- Carbon reduction through reforestation and avoided deforestation.
Adaptation
- Protection against flooding, including reforestation and watershed management
- Food security improvement and stress-resilient crops (which will slow down deforestation)
- Sustainable forest management and avoided deforestation.
Read the World Bank’s climate change strategy
Everyone interested in carbon credit capitalization should see this video:
http://www.theburningseasonmovie.com/
I first saw this last year on Wide Angle (a PBS series). It shows how carbon credits might be used to prevent the slash and burn of rainforests in Thailand while at the same time helping to rejeuvenate the economy of Banda Aceh (remember the tsunami?)
Excellent and very thought provoking. Would like to see someone succeed at this. Maybe the time is finally right.