GSS/S issuance increased in September across all three labels, (+44% compared to 2022). Green GSS/S issuance (c. $110.5bn) represents 45% of GSS/S issuance in 2023 year-to-date (YTD) – with a slight lead relative to social and sustainable issuance (23% and 31% respectively). GSS/S issuance in the SSA space is led by Agencies/Local Authorities (46%), followed by Supranationals (29%) and then Sovereigns (25%).

SSA GSS/S Supply 2022-2023 YTD

• Sovereign: YTD GSS issuance of $61bn, largely consisting of green bonds, but we have seen a pickup in sustainability-linked bond (SLB) issuance with Chile (1.3%).
• Supranationals: YTD GSS issuance of $73bn, led by sustainable bonds (63%) followed by green (26%), with social issuance lagging (10%).
• Agencies / Local Authorities: YTD GSS issuance of $90bn, led by social bonds (48%) followed by green (37%) with sustainable issuance lagging (15%).

• Brazil published their long-awaited sustainability bond framework, which notably included extensive disclosure around the credentials of the nation from an environmental, social and governance perspective. 
• The African Development Bank completed its roadshow for their first-of-its-kind sustainable hybrid bond. This product was developed off the back of a G20 report that recommended the use of Hybrid Capital by MDBs to meet growing financing needs.
• The Dutch State Treasury Agency (DSTA) published their recently updated Green Bond Framework which has added greater disclosure around EU Taxonomy alignment and better aligns the programme with Dutch Policy on Climate Change.
• The French Government published their plan to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions 55% by 2030. This requires a ramp up of reduction to 5% annually through to 2030, from currently c.2%. In order to achieve this, the government plans to increase climate-focused investments to €10bn next year, compared to €3bn in 2023.
• The Danish Government published their updated green bond investor presentation which emphasised the role that developed nations could play to combat global emissions.
• The UK DMO published their 2023 UK Green Financing Allocation and Impact Report, detailing the allocation for the financing raised in financial year 2022 to 2023 and the impact from the financing raised in financial year 2021 to 2022.

• La Banque Postale, LBP AM and CNP Assurances launched a €1bn impact infrastructure debt fund to support the energy transition. The fund is classified as Article 8 under Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and will finance infrastructure projects that make a substantial contribution to mitigating climate change or are committed to decarbonising their operations.
• Morgan Stanley Infrastructure Partners and Crowley announced a joint venture to advance offshore wind energy solutions for the US. The new joint venture will focus on repurposing and operating existing US port facilities and leasing them under long-term contracts to offshore wind developers.
• Eurazeo announced the beginning of fundraising for a new transition private debt fund, dedicated to supporting the transition towards a more sustainable maritime sector.

• The Taskforce on Nature-related Disclosures (TNFD) published their final recommendations for nature-related risk management and disclosure. The recommendations aim to inform better decision making by companies and capital providers, and ultimately contribute to a shift in global financial flows towards nature-positive outcomes and the goals of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
• The FCA has issued a portfolio letter to wholesale banks, setting out its key priorities. The letter identifies several key areas of focus, including ESG, consumer duty, artificial intelligence, and diversity, equity and inclusion.
• European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) have published their second annual report on the extent of voluntary disclosure of principal adverse impacts (PAI) under Article 18 of the SFDR. The results show an overall improvement compared to the previous year however there is still significant variations across disclosures.

• MSCI recently launched the MSCI Sustainability Institute which aims to drive progress on the role of capital markets in creating sustainable value and tackling global challenges such as climate change. The institute has a range of offerings, such as equipping academic researchers and policymakers with sustainability data, metrics and models that investors use to inform their decision-making.
• Sustainable Fitch has launched its ESG Ratings product for investors. The offering provides granular and transparent ESG ratings and sub-scores at an entity, framework and instrument level.
• S&P launched its updated Second Party Opinions (SPOs), featuring Shades of Green. The integrated analysis produces four analytical outputs: alignment assessment, shade of green, issuer sustainability context and EU Taxonomy assessment.

If you would like to discuss any of the above further, please reach out to our authors:

• Tonia Plakhotniuk, Vice President, Climate and ESG Capital Markets
• Manmeet Baryah, Analyst, Climate and ESG Capital Markets

*For further analysis and information on the Primary and Secondary Markets, as well as detail of the latest SSA GSS/S private placements, take a look at the full monthly newsletter on Market Insights. If you do not have access to Market Insights, please contact us here. Also, for any unfamiliar terms used within this article please refer to our insights glossary.