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Knowledge At MET

Knowledge At MET

Green Finance in India

"Green Bonds" have emerged as a new and fast growing form of environmental financing since 2007 globally. While it is still viewed as a niche product globally; green bonds have started growing rapidly in India too. This paper briefly talks about all the aspects of green bonds such as, types of “green” projects that may be included in green bonds, the extent of the impact that these investments should create, and even what investment areas may count as green. This short overview of the green bonds in India throws light on their importance and the duality of the instrument.

Keywords

Green Indices, Renewable Resources, Green Investment, Green Bonds, Indian Green Bonds, Bond Market, Low Carbon Infrastructure, Energy

Introduction

Green bonds are an increasingly attractive mechanism for both private and public sector organizations to raise capital for projects, assets or other activities that benefit the economy, environment and society. The global green bond market is growing rapidly. Perhaps inevitably in a fast-growing market, challenges and confusion can arise as organizations assess whether issuing a green bond is the right course of action for them and seek to understand the process involved. While the bond market potential is vast, it is important to keep in mind that green bonds aren't suitable for every type of environmental project, especially if institutional investors are the primary buyer of the debt. In fact, the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has estimated that less than 1% of global pension fund assets are allocated directly to infrastructure investment. Investments into unproven markets are more suited to investors with higher risk tolerances, such as venture capitalists.

The Government of India's focus on India's renewable energy potential and target of 175 GW of additional capacity installation by 2022, it is estimated that the renewable energy sector will require significant structured financing. Currently, there are a number of challenges in the existing financing mechanisms including sector limits, high interest rates and asset liability mismatch, and therefore there is a need to evolve innovative financing mechanisms to finance projects in the renewable energy and energy efficiency space. Green Infrastructure Bonds are on such specialized avenue to allow for financing to flow to vital green energy projects.

 What Is Green Bonds?

“A green bond, like any other bond, is a fixed-income financial instrument for raising capital through the debt capital market. In its simplest form, the bond issuer raises a fixed amount of capital from investors over a set period of time, repaying the capital when the bond matures and paying an agreed amount of interest (coupons) along the way.” The key difference between a 'green' bond and a regular bond is that the issuer publicly states it is raising capital to fund 'green' projects, assets or business activities with an environmental benefit, such as renewable energy, low carbon transport or forestry projects.

Bonds can also be used to fund projects with a social or community benefit such as improving healthcare or social services, and these are typically known as 'social' or 'social impact' bonds. They are typically tax-exempt bonds, which are issued by Government organizations and target institutional and retail investors. Therefore, they help raise additional funds from consumers and the private sector rather than general taxation. Green bonds could be related to specified technologies or projects to ensure that the money raised is invested in a particular set of projects.

The labeled green bond market tripled in size between 2013 and 2014, with US $37 billion issued in 2014. Historically, supranational organizations such as the European Investment Bank and the World Bank, along with governments, have been the most prolific issuers of green bonds, accounting for all labeled issues between 2006 and 2012. However, there has since been a sharp rise in the number of corporate green bonds issued. In 2014, bonds issued by corporations in the energy and utilities, consumer goods, and real estate sectors accounted for one third of the market. As seen in the figures below.

Figure 1 – Historical Issuance of Green Bonds

Source: Credit Agricole: report on Green Bond Market

The above graph shows total outstanding investments in Green Bonds in 2014 is USD 54 billion that includes USD 32.5 billion of fresh issuances, more than cumulative issuance of Green Bonds from 2006 to 2013.

Figure 2 – Green Bond Issuances: Minimum Size USD 500m

Source: Credit Agricole: report on Green Bond Market

The above figure reiterates the steady increase of Bond issuance over the last 8 years and a spiked increase in the last 2 years of over 31 issuances only. Substantial further growth is predicted and it is forecast that in 2015 for green bonds.

On the other hand, bonds could be generic in nature as far as the technology or project is concerned and the proceeds could be used to finance any LCI project that meets the predefined criteria.” Issue Paper: Green Bonds in India

–Ministry of Power & Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Government of India; American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2015)1.

Green Bond Definition

Green Bonds are any type of bond instruments where the proceeds will be exclusively applied to finance or e-finance in part or in full new and/or existing eligible Green Projects and which follows the 4 Green Bond Principles. Green Projects are defined as projects and activities that will promote progress on environmentally sustainable activities as defined by the issuer and in line with the issuer's project process for evaluation and selection. The management of Green Bond proceeds should be traceable within the issuing organization and issuers should report at least annually on use of proceeds. Green Bond Principles, 2014 – Voluntary Process Guidelines for Issuing Green Bonds2.

Types of Green Bonds

Specifying Use of Proceeds, Direct Project Exposure, or Securitization towards new and existing Green Projects .There are currently four types of Green Bonds:

  1. Green Use of Proceeds Bond: A standard recourse-to-the-issuer debt obligation for which the proceeds shall be moved to a sub-portfolio or otherwise tracked by the issuer and attested to by a formal internal process that will be linked to the issuer's lending and investment operations for projects. Pending such investment, it is recommended that the issuer make known to investors the intended types of eligible investments for the balance of unallocated
  1. Green Use of Proceeds Revenue Bond: A non-recourse-to-the-issuer debt obligation in which the credit exposure in the bond is to the pledged cash flows of the revenue streams, fees, taxes , and the Use of Proceeds of the bond goes to related or unrelated Green Projects. The proceeds shall be moved to a sub-portfolio or otherwise tracked by the issuer and attested to by a formal internal process that will be linked to the issuer's lending and investment operations for projects. Pending such investment, it is recommended that the issuer make known to investors the intended types of eligible investments for the balance of unallocated proceeds.
  1. Green Project Bond: A project bond for a single or multiple Green Projects for which the investor has direct exposure to the risk of the projects with or without potential recourse to the
  1. Green Securitized Bond: A bond collateralized by one or more specific projects, including but not limited to covered bonds, ABS, and other structures. The first source of repayment is generally the cash flows of the assets. This type of bond covers, for example, asset-backed securitizations of rooftop solar PV and/or energy efficiency Green Bond Principles –ICMA group (2015)3.

Green Bonds – Benefits to the Stakeholders

The benefits associated with Green Bonds have been evaluated from the perspective of four key stakeholders: Financial Institutions (Bankers/Lenders), Developers, Green Bond Investors and the State.

Key Benefits for Financial Institutions

  1. Overcome challenge of sector limits: FIs in India have self-imposed limits which restrict exposure to a particular With Green Bonds, FIs have an option to offload holding assets through RE portfolio issuance, thereby allowing the institutions to adhere to the sector limits, while deploying bond proceeds into new projects.
  1. Ability to manage asset liability mismatch: A key challenge faced by mainstream SCBs in India is the asset liability mismatch as deposits are largely short-term. The lack of long-term liquidity in the system does not allow banks (barring specific institutions such as IREDA, PTC Financial Services, etc., which have access to long term capital from multi-lateral and bi-lateral agencies) to procure long-term lending to the Green Bonds address this challenge as they allow FIs to raise long-term capital from the market. In addition, they provide an exit option to FIs via securitization of projects portfolios at certain stage of maturity to overcome asset liability mismatch.
  1. Ability to obtain premium on performing assets through issuances: Due to roll out of “mature” projects portfolio through Green Bonds, FIs can command risk premiums via pricing arbitrage that may exist during issuance of Green Bonds due to low risk portfolio and potentially higher ratings in open

Key Benefits for Developers

  1. Access to capital at attractive terms: Project developers currently have limited options of approaching FIs in India who offer low tenures and high Green Bonds will allow developers to access international capital at attractive terms.
  1. Excessive cash flow for capacity expansion: Developers can generate surplus cash flow through longer tenure and bullet payment structures for bonds that allows access to capital to expand capacity without proportional equity Based on PACE-D TA Program analysis, it is estimated that redeployment of excessive cash flow can allow for 30-50% faster growth rates per year for the same equity base. Green Bonds can’t be leveraged for provisioning growth of capital for developers.

Key Benefits for Green Bonds Investors

While some institutional investors are promoting climate-friendly business practices, others are diversifying their investment portfolio to hedge the risks associated with climate change. Green bonds can help investors on both fronts. The long-term competiveness of green assets, higher liquidity associated with the bond market, and low operational risk offer institutional investors an attractive basket of investment through the use of Green Bonds.

Key Benefits for the State

With an aggressive target of 165 GW of installed RE by 2022, the Government of India will require large investments for the RE sector. For this, it is important to explore options beyond the traditional sources of funds. Green Bonds, in this regards, will enable India to attract capital and consequently scale its RE investments and meet the target set under the National Action Plan on Climate Change. Large-scale foreign capital inflow into the country will also expand foreign reserves while offsetting India's energy import and enhancing energy security. Issue Paper: Green Bonds in India –Ministry of Power & Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Government of India; American People through the 6 United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2015) .

GREEN BOND PRINCIPLES (GBP)

The Green Bond Principles do not specify exactly what makes a bond 'green'. However, applying these principles can help to ensure the process for managing a green bond is credible. Recommend concrete process and disclosure has been published for issuers which investors, banks, investment banks, underwriters, placement agents and others may use to understand the characteristics of any given Green Bond.

The Green Bond Principles have four components: 1) Use of Proceeds 2) Process for Project Evaluation and Selection 3) Management of Proceeds 4) Reporting

1. Use of Proceeds

The cornerstone of a Green Bond is the utilization of the proceeds of the bond. For a Green Use of Proceeds Bond or a Green Use of Proceeds Revenue Bond, the issuer should declare the eligible Green Project categories including types of investments made indirectly through financial intermediaries in the Use of Proceeds section of the legal documentation for the security. The GBP recommend that all designated Green Project categories provide clear environmental benefits that can be described and where feasible- quantified and/or assessed. There are several categories and sets of criteria defining eligible Green Projects already in existence in the market. The GBP recognize several broad categories of potential eligible Green Projects for the Use of Proceeds including but not limited to:

• Renewable energy

• Energy efficiency (including efficient buildings)

• Sustainable waste management

• Sustainable land use (including sustainable forestry and agriculture)

• Biodiversity conservation

• Clean transportation

• Clean water and/or drinking water

2. Process for Project Evaluation and Selection The issuer should establish a well-defined process for determining how the investments fit within the eligible Green Project categories identified in the Use of Proceeds disclosure. A process of review should determine and document an investment's eligibility within the issuers' stated eligible Green Project categories. If possible, issuers should work to establish impact objectives from the projects selected. To the extent feasible, issuers should consider direct and indirect impacts of Green Projects, such as cases where investments lock-in a current level of emissions into the future. Multilateral and bilateral agencies and other International Finance Institutions have established processes to ensure that environmental criteria are considered for each project to which they allocate funds, independent of whether they qualify for use of Green Bond proceeds. These reviews are carried out with resident teams of environmental experts. The GBP recommend all issuers, where applicable, engage in similar environmental reviews of the projects they are financing.

In addition to the Green Bond process, criteria and assurances that an issuer provides, many Green Bond investors may also take into consideration an issuer's overall environmental and social and governance framework.

3. Management of Proceeds

The net proceeds of Green Bonds should be moved to a sub-portfolio or otherwise tracked by the issuer and attested to by a formal internal process that will be linked to the issuer's lending and investment operations for projects. So long as the Green Bonds are outstanding, the balance of the tracked proceeds should be periodically reduced by amounts matching investments made during that period. Pending such investments, it is recommended that the issuer make known to investors the intended types of eligible instruments for the balance of unallocated proceeds.

The management process to be followed by the issuer for tracking the proceeds should be clearly and publicly disclosed. The environmental integrity of Green Bond instruments will be enhanced if an external auditor, or other third party, verifies the internal tracking method for the flow of funds from the Green Bond proceeds. Depending on issuers' and investors' expectations, outside review of the internal tracking method may or may not be necessary. In addition to reporting on the Use of Proceeds and the eligible investments for unallocated proceeds, issuers should report at least annually, if not semi-annually, via newsletters, website updates or filed financial reports on the specific investments made from the Green Bond proceeds, detailing wherever possible the specific project and the dollars invested in the project.

The GBP recommend the use of quantitative and/or qualitative performance indicators which measure, where feasible, the impact of the specific investments (e.g. reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, number of people provided with access to clean power or clean water, or avoided vehicle miles travelled, etc.). While there is variability in impact measurement systems, much progress towards standardization has been made in the past several years. Issuers are recommended to familiarize themselves with impact reporting standards and, where feasible, to report on the positive environmental impact of the investments funded by Green Bond proceeds. (Green Bond Principles, 2014 – 4 Voluntary Process Guidelines for Issuing Green Bonds) .

GREEN WASH

Need for Credibility

The lack of standard definitions of what makes a bond 'green' has led to uncertainty over whether all green bonds really are 'green'. Issuers face reputational risk and potential accusations of 'greenwash' if:

• Bond proceeds are used to fund activities that some stakeholders believe are not 'green' enough. Core business activities are seen as unsustainable. For example, some stakeholders have criticized energy companies for issuing green bonds to fund renewable energy projects, while also being involved in nuclear power generation. Proceeds are not tracked or managed tightly enough to ensure they are used only for the intended projects. Some issuers have faced criticism over management of proceeds, for instance for holding unallocated proceeds temporarily in non-green funds while projects are in development. Issuers are unable to prove that proceeds have been used to meet green objectives and that the funded projects have benefitted the environment. Issuers can protect the credibility of their green bond by:

• Defining green bond criteria clearly in line with evolving guidance and standards: apply a rigorous and transparent approach to defining what is considered.

• Being transparent with investors: we recommend issuers are transparent with potential investors about the bond criteria, in order to avoid any misunderstanding over how funds will be used.

• Putting in place robust management processes and controls: It is recommended that issuers develop processes and controls in line with the Green Bond Principles. The principles require issuers to disclose how proceeds are used and show that the amount spent matches the level of investments made in green projects throughout the life of the bond. It is important to ensure that the amount of capital raised is in line with the cost of projects to be funded and that there are either enough green projects in progress, or planned, to account for the proceeds raised. Issuers should also plan in advance where proceeds will be held if they are not invested immediately. Investors may require evidence that proceeds are not held in non-green funds or used for 'non-green' ('brown') projects in the meantime. The Climate Bonds Standard requires issuers to disclose any instance of proceeds not being used in line with the agreed criteria. Issuers should be prepared to provide evidence to a third party of the tracking mechanisms and process in place, to give investors greater confidence that the proceeds are used in line with the terms of the bond. 

• Measuring and reporting on environmental outcomes: consider how progress against environmental and/or social objectives will be monitored and report at regular intervals through the life of the bond or the funded projects.

• Selecting an appropriate type of assurance: consider seeking independent third-party assurance to provide investors with confidence in the processes, controls and information reported. Sustainable insight – gearing up for 5 green bonds – KPMG report (2015) .

GLOBAL STATUS

Figure 3 – Percentage Issuance of Green Bonds in Various Geographies

Source- Green Bonds for Financing India's Clean Energy Needs (2014)

Figure 4 – Percentage Issuance of Green Bonds for Various Tenures

Source- Green Bonds for Financing India's Clean Energy Needs (2014)

As seen in the figure 4 above there is a clear preference for issuing Green Bonds for up to 5 years followed by up to 10 & 15 years. There is a distinct resistance for issuing green bonds for a period over 15 years.

Figure 5 – Percentage Issuance of Green Bonds for Various Currencies

Source- Green Bonds for Financing India's Clean Energy Needs (2014)

As seen in the figure above majority of green bonds are issued in EUR & USD currencies making the respective nations the preferred destination for issuing Green Bonds.

 Figure 6 – Percentage Issuance of Green Bonds for Various Ratings

Source- Green Bonds for Financing India's Clean Energy Needs (2014) The figure above shows the similarity in the Ratings selection for bonds & green bonds preferred globally is AAA. The above figures 2- 4 conclude the following:

Maximum bonds are issued for a 1-5 years tenure having an AAA rating and are issued mainly in Germany (21%), Scandinavia (19%), and Europe (16%) in EUR & USD currencies.

This issue was to fund an environment friendly water and energy projects. After the success of this bond, the Bank issued another Green Bond for EUR 500 Million for the same tenure got oversubscribed by two times.

Green Bonds in India

Growth on a low carbon economy trajectory has the potential to yield multiple benefits for India. These include, enhanced energy security from efficient energy usage (both supply and demand sides) and renewable energy projects; human health benefits from non-polluting transport; and environmental benefits through improved forestry and natural resource management, waste reduction programs, and reduced emissions of local pollutants from energy facilities. Hence, reducing carbon intensity of growth is an imperative. But how much financing will be required? Various estimates have been made for the global requirement. But as far as India is concerned, no readymade estimates are available. Such an estimation requires a great deal of information about physical impacts of Low Carbon Infrastructure; the mitigation and adaptation needs of the country; the expected economic growth, population growth, demand for infrastructure, use of clean technologies, and finally, the funding requirements of such needs. Nevertheless, it would suffice to say that the funding requirement is huge and could easily run into billions of dollars.

A study by McKinsey & Company2 corroborates this. According to this study, a projected increase in emissions to 5–6.5 billion MT of carbon dioxide equivalent in India could be lowered by 30 per cent to 50 per cent by 2030 by investing in energy efficient technologies in road transport, power, buildings, and appliances. The report suggests that incremental capital of about 600–750 billion euro ($874 billion to $1.1 trillion) would be needed between 2010 and 2030, even after accounting for steep declines in the cost of emerging technologies such as solar power. The estimates are staggering and there is no clear understanding of how these financing requirements will be met. A McKinsey & Company 2 report6.

 

India has taken up aggressive target to increase Renewable Energy & Low Carbon Infrastructure penetration to 15% by 2020 from current 5%. With continued growth in the energy consumption and multi-fold increase in share for Renewable Energy & Low Carbon Infrastructure, it is expected that the capacity would have to grow by a factor of 8-10 times by 2030. While the substantially higher capacity target will ensure greater energy security, improved energy access and enhanced employment opportunities, it will require higher capital investments, estimated at around USD 200 billion, over the coming years.

 

Based on the huge projected capital and investment requirements, it is widely accepted that current project financing sources namely Scheduled Commercial Banks (SCB) lending, Non-banking Finance Company (NBFC) sponsored project financing, multi-lateral and bi-lateral lines of credit to financial institutions (FIs), domestic bond issuances, etc., which are prevalent in the Indian market would be inadequate to meet the financing requirements for capacity addition. There is a need to introduce new means of financing and innovative financial instruments that can leverage a wider investor base such as pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance companies, etc. (estimated to manage over USD 80 trillion) that can invest in the RE sector. Another driving factor for the introduction of new sources of financing and instruments is the high cost and low tenure of project financing currently available for RE projects in India. At present, NBFCs and commercial banks are the main sources of debt financing in India. However, these organizations typically face difficulties in providing long-term funding for infrastructure projects due to asset-liability mismatch and the relatively higher cost of borrowing. In addition, banks have to deal with internally set sector limits (Power sector limits vary as per SCB guidelines). As such, instruments that can help tap long-term, low-cost debt from investor classes such as insurance, pension funds, and other long-term investors, (both domestic and foreign), to refinance bank debt for infrastructure projects are critical to meet the financing requirement for capacity addition. Further, since equity investments from various investor classes are dependent on the depth of debt markets, improvements in debt market need to be targeted first. Issue Paper: Green Bonds in India – by Vinod Kala, Vivek Garg. Ministry of Power & Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Government of India ; American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)(2015)7.

include:

Low cost-long term debt: With low financing cost, there is a direct impact in reduction of cost of generation from RE. With reduction in the cost of power generation, there is larger adoption of RE projects from stakeholders such as consumers, IPPs, technology manufacturers, and distribution companies.

Increased capital access: With Green Bonds being tradable instruments, there is improved liquidity; hence exit for investors during any point of time post investment is possible, thus allowing for flexibility in managing liquidity requirements on a short term basis. Such flexible instruments attract a larger pool of investors to the RE sector. Some of the key investor pools that can be attracted towards participation in Green Bonds for Renewable Energy are:

  • Pension Funds
  • Insurance Companies
  • Sovereign Wealth Funds

Green Bonds facilitate access to capital various developments financing across development stages thus leading to larger implementation of projects.

The following challenges are considered key risk elements for issuance of Green Bonds for Indian entities.

Hedging costs: Currently, hedging costs are very high and hence take away the cost advantage for foreign currency financing in India. There is a need to explore instruments/methods that can enable reduction of such costs.

India's current sovereign rating of BBB- is not attractive to risk-averse investors.

Credit ratings: Enhancement, offered by multiple agencies such as IFC, AFD, and USAID-DCA, can help enhance credit rating. However, there are costs associated with such credit enhancement services. Such costs vis-à-vis potential benefits of interest rates reduction are required to be analyzed.

 

The External Commercial Borrowing (ECB) guidelines pose certain challenges for the usage of Regulations: proceeds from Green Bonds.

Viable solutions could include:

  • Refinancing SPVs by IPPs that issue corporate bonds in foreign currency
  • On-lending possibility for SPV of Infrastructure Finance Company created for issuance of Green Bonds
  • Issuances of Green Bonds by an overseas SPV of a domestic Financial Institutions
  • Only 25% of External Commercial Borrowings are allowed to refinance existing Remaining 75% should be used for development of new construction, which poses a challenge for launching Green Bonds for operational assets. Issue Paper: Green Bonds in India – by Vinod Kala, Vivek Garg. Ministry of Power & Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Government of India ; American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)(2015)7.

Some examples of Green Bond Issuance:

Case 1: Green Bonds Issuance for Banks/ Financial Institutions – Issue Bank – NRW Bank, Germany (Regional Commercial Bank) Issue Size – EUR 250 Million

Issue Date – November 2013 Issue Rating  –  AAA Issue Tenure- 4 years

Case 2: Yes Bank – India's First Green Bond Bond Name – Green Infrastructure Bond Issue Size – INR 500 Crores

Tenor – 10 years

Payment Type – Bullet Payment Isuue Date – February, 2015

The amount raised will be used to fund green projects such as Solar Power, Wind Power, Biomass and Small Hydel Projects.

Globally, Green Bonds issues amounted to almost $35 billion worldwide in 2014 while the market in India is still nascent. The first such green (infrastructure ) bond issuance in India by YES Bank will catalyze the market for green bonds in India and allow responsible investors to facilitate funding towards Renewable and Clean Energy Projects.

Case Study 3 - Green Cess on Electricity Consumption in Maharashtra and Karnataka

In Maharashtra, the state government jointly with a private sector financial institution––the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS)––has promoted the Urjankur Nidhi Trust Fund to promote non-conventional energy projects in the state. The fund would initially promote bagasse-based co-generation power projects which have a significant potential in Maharashtra. The fund would provide financial support in the form of equity with maximum support per project of up to 20% of the project cost or 20% of the corpus, whichever is lower. The e-fund will also provide crucial support functions during project development, project management, and distribution of resulting power. The fund has a corpus of Rs 418 crores of which Rs 218 crores would be contributed by the government of Maharashtra. This fund would be replenished through the imposition of a green cess of 4 paisa per unit on industrial and commercial power consumers in Maharashtra. The other 200 crores would be contributed by private institutional investors. In Karnataka too, the state government has levied a cess called Green Energy Cess at 5 paisa per unit on commercial and industrial consumers. It is expected that the cess would generate Rs 55 crore annually. A part of the proceeds raised through this cess will be set aside for the Energy Conservation Fund. The remaining proceeds would be utilized for financing renewable energy projects in the state, strengthening the evacuation system for such projects and for an integrated information and communication program in the state. [Source: Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (2010); Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (2010)].

Conclusion

As the green bond market continues to develop, it provides public and private sector organizations with an important source of funding for activities that can bring significant benefits to the environment and society. However, the market is not without risks and challenges. The lack of clear definitions of what is considered 'green', requirements on how proceeds should be tracked, managed and reported on, and the lack of assurance requirements over information reported, all need to be addressed if the market is to build credibility and continue its rapid growth. There is an ever increasing need for guidelines on Green Bonds in India; from the inception to trading to utilization of funds and return of the funds.

It could be a positive impact on the market, with growing standardization leading to lower transaction costs for issuers. This would result in an increase in the number of Green Bonds issued, larger investor interest and confidence. On the whole the increase of Green Bonds will prove to be a sweeter deal for all the stakeholders and environment.

Recommendations

Given the climate crisis, there is an urgent need to shift investment dollars away from financing climate pollution and toward environmentally sound initiatives. Green bonds can be an important component of that effort, but there must be common, basic standards in place.

  • Exclusion of conventional energy: Green bonds should not finance conventional energy such as fossil fuels, nuclear energy, destructive dams, waste incineration or harmful biomass or forestry
  • Safeguard the environment and affected communities: In addition to greenhouse gas emissions, social and environmental criteria Forexample, greenbondsshouldnotfinanceprojectsthatviolatehumanrightsorpolluteafter.
  • Transparency and reporting: Green use of proceeds bonds must report transparently and publicly on eligible investments at the outset, and then on the actual investments made through the lifetime of the bond. Such reporting should be independently verified

Payment Type – Bullet Payment Isuue Date – February, 2015

The amount raised will be used to fund green projects such as Solar Power, Wind Power, Biomass and Small Hydel Projects.

Globally, Green Bonds issues amounted to almost $35 billion worldwide in 2014 while the market in India is still nascent. The first such green (infrastructure ) bond issuance in India by YES Bank will catalyze the market for green bonds in India and allow responsible investors to facilitate funding towards Renewable and Clean Energy Projects.

Case Study 3 - Green Cess on Electricity Consumption in Maharashtra and Karnataka

In Maharashtra, the state government jointly with a private sector financial institution––the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services (IL&FS)––has promoted the Urjankur Nidhi Trust Fund to promote non-conventional energy projects in the state. The fund would initially promote bagasse-based co-generation power projects which have a significant potential in Maharashtra. The fund would provide financial support in the form of equity with maximum support per project of up to 20% of the project cost or 20% of the corpus, whichever is lower. The e-fund will also provide crucial support functions during project development, project management, and distribution of resulting power. The fund has a corpus of Rs 418 crores of which Rs 218 crores would be contributed by the government of Maharashtra. This fund would be replenished through the imposition of a green cess of 4 paisa per unit on industrial and commercial power consumers in Maharashtra. The other 200 crores would be contributed by private institutional investors. In Karnataka too, the state government has levied a cess called Green Energy Cess at 5 paisa per unit on commercial and industrial consumers. It is expected that the cess would generate Rs 55 crore annually. A part of the proceeds raised through this cess will be set aside for the Energy Conservation Fund. The remaining proceeds would be utilized for financing renewable energy projects in the state, strengthening the evacuation system for such projects and for an integrated information and communication program in the state. [Source: Maharashtra Energy Development Agency (2010); Karnataka Renewable Energy Development Limited (2010)].

Conclusion

As the green bond market continues to develop, it provides public and private sector organizations with an important source of funding for activities that can bring significant benefits to the environment and society. However, the market is not without risks and challenges. The lack of clear definitions of what is considered 'green', requirements on how proceeds should be tracked, managed and reported on, and the lack of assurance requirements over information reported, all need to be addressed if the market is to build credibility and continue its rapid growth. There is an ever increasing need for guidelines on Green Bonds in India; from the inception to trading to utilization of funds and return of the funds.

It could be a positive impact on the market, with growing standardization leading to lower transaction costs for issuers. This would result in an increase in the number of Green Bonds issued, larger investor interest and confidence. On the whole the increase of Green Bonds will prove to be a sweeter deal for all the stakeholders and environment.

Recommendations

Given the climate crisis, there is an urgent need to shift investment dollars away from financing climate pollution and toward environmentally sound initiatives. Green bonds can be an important component of that effort, but there must be common, basic standards in place.

  • Exclusion of conventional energy: Green bonds should not finance conventional energy such as fossil fuels, nuclear energy, destructive dams, waste incineration or harmful biomass or forestry
  • Safeguard the environment and affected communities: In addition to greenhouse gas emissions, social and environmental criteria Forexample, greenbondsshouldnotfinanceprojectsthatviolatehumanrightsorpolluteafter.
  • Transparency and reporting: Green use of proceeds bonds must report transparently and publicly on eligible investments at the outset, and then on the actual investments made through the lifetime of the bond. Such reporting should be independently verified
  • Getting what you pay for: The proceeds of green bonds must be used for their intended purposes. Currently, in most countries, green bond issuers are not contractually obligated to finance the projects for which the bond has been Fixing this would require regulatory changes as well as high standards of transparency, disclosure, monitoring and reporting to the public.
  • Excursion from international climate finance: The US$100 billion that developed countries are obligated to provide to developing countries for mitigation and adaptation activities under the United Nations Climate Convention is entirely separate from important efforts to shift private investment from brown to Green bonds must not be counted towards the US$100 billion in climate finance.

Way Forward

Bond issuers should take a rigorous approach towards the use and management of green bond proceeds now without waiting for mandatory requirements to emerge. Issuers that do so are likely to build increased credibility with investors, underwriters and rating agencies, as well as reducing their own reputational risks. Given that green bonds are long- term financing vehicles, the reputational risk to issuers extends for many years across the life of the bond and beyond, therefore it is advisable to seek to reduce that risk from the point of issuance onwards.

However, green bonds are not free from problems. Since these bonds are tax free and are government backed finance, they would compete for finite financial resources of the GOI-either from public debt or taxation-and such approaches could create a moral hazard in that the government could be asked to fund sub-optimal projects on the understanding that it bears the risk of commercial failure.

References

  1. A Study on Emerging Green Finance in India: Its Challenges and Opportunities BY Keerthi S, ISSN: 2319-4421(2013)
  2. Sustainable insight – gearing up for green bonds – KPMG report (2015)
  3. Financing Low Carbon Infrastructure in India – Dhruba Purkayastha, Manisha Gulati, and Sunder Subramanian (2010)
  4. Green Bond Principles, 2014 – Voluntary Process Guidelines for Issuing Green Bonds
  5. Issue Brief: Green Bonds article by Bank Track & International Rivers (2014)
  6. Green Bond Principles –ICMA group (2015)
  7. Issue Paper: Green Bonds in India –by Vinod Kala, Vivek Garg. Ministry of Power & Ministry of New and Renewable Energy Government of India; American People through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) (2015)
  8. Green Bonds for Financing India's Clean Energy Needs (2014)

 

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http://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_IV_GreenInvesting_Report_2011.pdf

http://www.climatebonds.net/taxonomy-project

developing an independent, third party standard) http://www.climatebonds.net/taxonomy-project

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, web site detailing EBRD criteria (EBRD is a Green Bonds Issuer) http://www.ebrd.com/pages/workingwithus/capital/sri.shtml

 

Authored by
Dr. Nirmala Joshi MET - IOM, Mumbai
dr.nirmala.s.joshi@gmail.com

Dr. Disha Shah
Visiting Faculty at MET - IOM, Mumbai
dishajs@gmail.com

Tags: MET Institute of Management