The introduction of the EU's Green Bond Standard may have an unintended effect on the rate of corporate issuance, a panel discussion at Environmental Finance's ESG in Fixed Income Europe 2020 virtual conference heard.
Karoliina Kajova, funding manager at Finland-based green and social bond issuer Municipality Finance, or MuniFin, said of proposals within the EU GBS: "The green investments our customers make are long term, large investments. In order to motivate them, we grant a margin discount actually for them on the lending side, and we fear that the current version of the standard could mean fewer green investments in the real economy, as the uncertainty is transferred to the project owners and continuity can't be granted."
A clip of the panel can be viewed below. The full panel discussion and the other discussions from the event are still available to view on the events platform.
Moderator: Agnès Gourc, Co-Head, Sustainable Finance Markets, BNP Paribas
Panellists: Federico Pezzolato, Vice President – Sustainable Finance Business Manager, ISS Corporate Solutions
Joshua Kendall, ESG Analyst, Insight Investment
Karoliina Kajova, Funding Manager, Municipality Finance Plc (MuniFin)
Roberto Fernández Albendea, Head of Corporate Social Responsibility, Iberdrola