Piazza Affari, Esg bonds increasingly popular

Green finance still likes it. Despite the criticism, especially from overseas, ESG financial instruments are still quite popular. In Piazza Affari, for example, there were 410 listed sustainable bonds (as of 31 July this year) for an amount of EUR 595 billion; there were 78 issuers of these particular financial instruments, with a prevalence of supranational entities, which launched more than 50 per cent of ESG bonds, accounting for around 40 per cent of the countervalue.

For the Italian data, we have obviously drawn on the reports of the Italian Stock Exchange, which includes green bonds, social bonds, sustainable bonds and sdg bonds under the category ESG bonds. However, it is the green bonds that cover the largest number of issues at 52.9%. And on the green bond front, big news is coming from the EU. A brand new green bond that provides for a much more thorough series of controls and reporting than the Icma. The latter is the international capital markets association and, to date, its Green Bond Principles (Gbp) have been used by green bond issuers; they are voluntary guidelines, without sanctions. The only sanction is that of the market: those who make mistakes lose the trust of investors.

In addition to Icma, there is also the much more restrictive Climate Bonds Initiative (Cbi) standard: Cbi among others provides on its website the updated numbers of green bond issues worldwide analysed according to its criteria or aligned to them.

Internationally, according to Cbi, green bonds worth EUR 488.9 billion were issued in the January-September period.

However, we will soon have to reckon with the new EU-wide bonds. In particular, it is European Regulation 2023/2631 that introduces European Green Bonds and will be applicable from 21 December this year. European green bonds (European Green Bonds - Eugb) require a series of compulsory fulfilments that, in the face of increased controls and supervision, will inevitably impose an increase in compliance costs. A less than favourable framework for such instruments that will perhaps dissuade potential issuers from abandoning the Icma scheme, which is cheaper and more flexible in terms of regulations.