Responsible Investment Emerging Market Green Bonds Report 2023: green bonds issuance in emerging markets increased 34%

IFC and Amundi publish the sixth edition of the Emerging Market Green Bonds Report, as emerging market green bonds issuance increased 34% in 2023.

Amundi, the leading European asset manager, and IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, today published the sixth edition of the Emerging Market Green Bonds Report that provides developments in the green bonds market for emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). The report focuses on green bonds issuances in EMDEs as well as the overall sustainable bonds market’s growth, perception and outlook.

Against the backdrop of broadly favorable financial market developments, the overall market for sustainable finance in EMDEs staged a rebound in new debt issuance during 2023 on the back of lower inflation expectations.

Green bonds issuance in emerging markets increased 34% year over year, reaching $135 billion in 2023. Meanwhile, the broader category of Global Green, Social, Sustainability and Sustainability-Linked (GSSS) bonds issuance exceeded $1 trillion in 2023, matching the all-time high reached in 2021. GSSS performance helped this segment increase its weight in international capital markets to account for 2.5% of global fixed income issuance in 2023, up from 2.2% a year earlier. This growth can be largely attributed to governments and companies stepping up efforts to confront climate challenges in developing economies.

Growth in emerging market sustainable bonds issuance is set to continue through 2025, with Amundi forecasting 7.1% year over year growth for GSSS bonds and 7.5% growth for green bonds. Amundi’s outlook assumes a relatively stable global backdrop of easing inflation without major escalations in geopolitical tensions.

The report also discusses the most significant initiatives launched in 2023 in the GSSS bonds space, including new taxonomies launched in the ASEAN region, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Singapore, as well as initiatives aimed at funding efforts to reverse biodiversity loss.

Highlights from the 2023 report include:

  • A strong rebound in GSSS bonds issuance globally (up by 11%, after a 10% retreat in 2022), driven by green bonds (up 15%) as well as by emerging markets (up 45%), reaching $1 trillion to match the all-time high seen in 2021.
  • Within emerging markets, strong GSSS bonds issuance across all sub-segments (up by 45% overall in emerging markets and 65% in EMDEs outside China). China’s strong but relatively slower GSSS bonds issuance (up by 28%) was driven by a combination of two factors: some reversion from a remarkably strong 2022, and weaker domestic economic dynamics, particularly in the construction and real estate sectors.
  • In 2023, China remained the largest green bonds issuer in emerging markets ($89.1 billion), growing by 18% year over year.
  • In EMDEs outside China, GSSS bonds issuance was mainly driven by green bonds, which increased by 81%. In the Middle East and North Africa, most notably UAE and Saudi Arabia, green bonds issuances more than doubled.
  • Excluding supranational issuers, green bonds penetration (issuance as a proportion of overall fixed income) reached 1.4% globally, an all-time high. Across regions, this was highest for emerging markets outside China (2.1%), and lowest for developed markets (1.3%).
  • Non-financial corporates remained the largest green bonds issuers in developed markets (36% of the total), while financial institutions continued to dominate in emerging markets (58% of the total). Green bonds issuance by sovereigns grew strongly: 33% globally and 226% in emerging markets.
  • The largest share of funds raised from the green instruments in EMDEs during 2023 was allocated for renewables, at 37%. The next biggest allocation was for green buildings claiming 29% of the total from 9% a year earlier.



    The full Emerging Market Green Bonds Report 2023
    is available here

Aude Humann

Press Relations
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Amundi, the leading European asset manager, ranking among the top 10 global players1, offers its 100 million clients - retail, institutional and corporate - a complete range of savings and investment solutions in active and passive management, in traditional or real assets. This offering is enhanced with IT tools and services to cover the entire savings value chain. A subsidiary of the Crédit Agricole group and listed on the stock exchange, Amundi currently manages more than €2.3 trillion of assets2.

With its six international investment hubs3, financial and extra-financial research capabilities and long-standing commitment to responsible investment, Amundi is a key player in the asset management landscape.

Amundi clients benefit from the expertise and advice of 5,600 employees in 35 countries.

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Footnotes

  1. Source: IPE "Top 500 Asset Managers" published in June 2024 based on assets under management as of 31/12/2023
  2. Amundi data as at 31/03/2025
  3. Paris, London, Dublin, Milan, Tokyo and San Antonio (via our strategic partnership with Victory Capital)