The World Bank has issued a five-year Sustainable Development Bond to raise awareness on the roles fresh and saltwater resources play in supporting livelihoods and planetary health. All World Bank bonds contribute to the financing of programmes that support the SDGs and aim to raise awareness of the private sector in financing sustainable development.
The bond forms the collateral for a ‘Low Carbon Blue Economy Note,’ which Credit Suisse then offered to its private wealth management clients globally. Credit Suisse Securities acted as the sole manager of the transaction.
Ocean health is “significantly underfunded from a private capital perspective.”
Credit Suisse’s CEO of the Impact Advisory and Finance Department, Marisa Drew, stressed the importance of the world’s oceans in absorbing carbon dioxide and generating oxygen but recognized that ocean health is “significantly underfunded from a private capital perspective.” Drew said the Sustainable Development Bond funding will help support projects on sustainable fisheries, marine protected areas and ocean waste upcycling and help “close the funding gap” on SDG 14 (life below water).
The bond, issued for US$28.6 million, will also help focus attention on the role of water conservation and sustainable ocean use in sustainable development. [World Bank Press Release] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on First World Bank Sustainable Development Bond]