The City of Cape Town’s first ever Green Bond has been named ‘Green Bond of the Year – local authority’ by the United Kingdom publication, Environmental Finance.
Environmental Finance announced the winners of the Environmental Finance Green Bond Awards 2018 this week. The winners were decided by a large panel of judges made up of some of the biggest bond investors in the world.
The City’s inaugural green bond of R1 billion went on auction in a closed bidding process on 12 July 2017. Within two hours, 31 investors made offers totalling R4,9 billion in response to the R1 billion that was being sold.
The R1 billion cleared at 133 basis points above the R186 government bond.
The response from the market was overwhelmingly positive and demonstrated a resounding vote of confidence in Cape Town from investors.
It also shows that it pays to go green with the great appetite among investors to invest in sustainable projects.
“We are indeed proud of this international accolade and wish to again thank the investors for their vote of confidence in Cape Town.”
The City’s Green Bond was the first in South Africa to be listed on the JSE’s green segment. It has been a tremendous learning curve for Cape Town and it proves that there are many innovative ways to raise finance to address infrastructure needs and to respond to climate change.
Environmental Finance’s ‘Green bond of the Year – local authority’ award recognises Cape Town’s commitment to innovatively tackle one of the biggest challenges cities around the world are facing, namely climate change.
“Going into the future, the City will go greener because we have a duty to protect the planet, to build sustainable cities, and to reduce carbon emissions.
Our green bond was certified by the Climate Bonds Initiative, while international ratings agency Moody’s also awarded the bond a GB 1 rating – which means they have been impressed enough with the green credentials and controls around this bond to rate it as ‘Excellent’.”
The projects funded by the green bond are a mix of adaptation and mitigation initiatives, all of which are aligned with the City’s Climate Change Strategy. Some of the projects include:
- energy efficiency in buildings
- water management initiatives (which includes water meter installations and replacements, water pressure management, and upgrade of reservoirs)
- sewerage effluent treatment
- rehabilitation and protection of coastal structures
For further information on Green Bonds, see https://www.jse.co.za/trade/debt-market/bonds/green-bonds.
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