Europe’s issuance of ESG-factor related bonds and loans grew by 59 percent in 2020. This is to read in the launch release of an ESG finance report planned for quarterly publication by the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (AFME).
According to AFME, the report serves to provide “a regulatory and supervisory snapshot on the European Sustainable Finance market”. Initiatives and upcoming deadlines regarding things like taxonomy and disclosures will be monitored. The ESG abbreviation stands for environmental, social and governance factors – often seen as key aspects of sustainability.
The summary of 2020 shows ESG bond issuance grew to 8.3 percent of Europe’s total bond issuance, from 5.0 percent the year before.
European ESG bond and loan issuance went from 245 billion euro in 2019 to 389 billion euro in 2020. The final quarter of the year saw the European Commission issue an inaugural social bond of 17 billion euro, soon followed by more.