Sovereign Green Bonds: What lessons can India draw from other nations

As of mid-2022, there are 26 countries with combined volumes of $227 billion in sovereign green debt

The finance ministry announced last week that it would issue sovereign green bonds worth Rs 16,000 crore as part of its October-March (H2FY23) borrowing programme. With this, India will join a club of just 25 nations so far whose governments have issued bonds to exclusively fund climate sustainability and green infrastructure projects and initiatives.

There are many issues to be sorted out, including assuring big institutional investors that the funds from these issuances will only be used for green projects. The finance ministry officials have told Business Standard that the centre and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), which issues