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Bond round-up: Japan, Verizon, MuniFin ... and more

Levelling up agenda to help UK local government pensions to invest in biodiversity, says Mercer

Local government pension schemes are looking for biodiversity investment opportunities, Mercer has said, but warned other pension schemes might face difficulties in finding suitable investments.

S&P: US REIT green bond issuance plummets in 2023

Green bond issuance by US real estate investment trusts (REITs) plummeted to just 3.6% of the market in 2023, down from around 18% in both 2022 and 2021.

Indonesia includes coal in green and transition taxonomy

Indonesia has taken the controversial decision to include the financing of new coal power plants as a transitional activity in its sustainable finance taxonomy.

Foresight calls for woodland's inclusion in UK ETS

Foresight Sustainable Forestry Company has called for the inclusion of woodland carbon credits in the UK Emissions Trading System (ETS), to help raise prices and encourage land to be switched from agricultural production to afforestation.

EU GBS could bring transparency but lacks guidance, IEEFA claims

The upcoming European Green Bond Standard lacks guidance on standardised impact reporting, the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis has claimed.

EU one step closer to 'world first' carbon removal certificate

The European Council and Parliament has provisionally agreed to set up a 'first of its kind' carbon removal certification framework, in a bid to give carbon removal projects more credibility.

Partially liquid structures win over pension funds on renewables

'Semi-liquid' fund structures could help UK-based pension funds allocate more capital to renewables developments, Schroders Greencoat has claimed.

'Big four' sustainable finance SPO providers emerge in 2023

Sustainalytics, S&P Global Ratings, ISS and Moody's have emerged as the 'big four' second-party opinion (SPO) providers in the sustainable finance market in 2023, but the race for market share has tightened as the sector matures and consolidates.

Three new biodiversity funds launched in Q4

Three new biodiversity funds were launched in the final quarter of 2023, taking total number to 19, according to research conducted by Environmental Finance.