Climate Bonds Initiative

This award recognises the Climate Bonds Initiative for maintaining the integrity of the green and sustainable debt market as it reaches unprecedented scale. In the first half of 2025, Climate Bonds-aligned GSS+ debt volume surpassed USD 6 trillion—a milestone accompanied by the second-highest quarter on record for the green theme—and by year-end 2025 cumulative GSS+ volume reached USD 8.1 trillion, of which USD 6.8 trillion was found to be Climate Bonds aligned. In August 2025 the organisation published version 4.3 of the Climate Bonds Standard, the leading Paris-aligned certification scheme, extending its rigour from individual instruments to entities.

As the leading international NGO mobilising capital for climate action, Climate Bonds screens self-labelled green bonds against science-based taxonomies to protect investors from greenwashing, certifies bonds and loans, and advises policymakers designing frameworks such as the EU Green Bond Standard. In 2025 it tracked first-mover sovereign issuance and innovative certified deals across shipping and municipal markets, demonstrating how robust standards unlock credible issuance.

By providing the definitions, certification and data that give investors confidence in the climate credentials of their investments, Climate Bonds has made market integrity the foundation of green finance. For safeguarding the integrity of a multi-trillion-dollar transition market, the Climate Bonds Initiative receives this recognition.

Score: 91

Reference: https://www.climatebonds.net/news-events/press-room/press-releases/green-bonds-drive-usd555bn-surge-development-banks-join-usd1tn-issuer-club