Entries for 'ESG'

Global debt reached a staggering $307 trillion in Q3 2023, with a big increase across the board in both mature markets (U.S., Japan, France, and the UK) and emerging markets (China, India, Brazil, and Mexico).

The ESG debt universe has expanded by $1.1 trillion over the past four quarters, surpassing $5.6 trillion in Q3 2023.

Rising global tensions and political divides could hinder multilateral efforts to achieve sustainable development goals. Global economic performance remains subdued, with significant regional disparities; a contributing factor has been the prolonged stagnation in global capital flows over the past 15 years amid post-financial crisis regulatory initiatives.

After reaching an all-time high of $3.5 trillion in Q1 2023, total debt in frontier markets (FM) saw a slight decline in Q2 2023.

In a higher-rate environment, the global debt stock rose by $10 trillion to a new record high of $307 trillion in H1 2023. 

Global climate flows surpassed $1.1 trillion in 2022 - up over 25% from $870 billion in 2021. However, this is still well short of what will be needed to achieve net-zero emissions. ESG stock and bond market performance improved in Q2 2023. Despite rapid growth, ESG integration in global debt markets is still at an early stage: just 6.1% of total debt issuance in Q2 2023 was ESG-linked.

The ESG debt universe (bonds and loans) hit a fresh record high of $5.4 trillion in H1 2023, up 30% from H1 2022. However new ESG debt issuance slowed to some $630 billion in H1 2023—over 15% lower than in H1 2022.

Amid tighter monetary and financial market conditions, ESG fund flows remain subdued and volatile. After large outflows in March, April saw a slight recovery in investor appetite for ESG funds. However, outflows from emerging market ESG funds accelerated in April.

The ESG debt universe hit $5.1 trillion in Q1 2023, up from $3.8 trillion a year ago and $2.3 trillion in Q1 2021. Amid the recent banking sector turmoil, ESG loan issuance fell sharply in Q1 2023, coming in at $40 billion—over 65% lower than in Q4 2022. In contrast, ESG bond issuance reached its highest level in five quarters.

At our IIF Sustainable Finance and Global Debt & Financial Stability Roundtables last week, key themes included net zero transition finance as well as the impact of higher funding costs for vulnerable sovereign and corporate borrowers.

Some $120 billion was added to the debt pile of frontier markets in 2022, bringing it to an all-time high of $3.6 trillion.

The nominal USD value of global debt declined by some $4 trillion to slightly below $300 trillion in 2022. Helped by stronger growth and inflation, global debt/GDP fell again in 2022 – but is still above pre-pandemic levels.

ESG fund flows have picked up, amid easier financial conditions and growing demand. Global climate flows surpassed $1.1 billion in 2022 - up over 25% from $870 billion in 2021. On average, ESG stocks and bonds are up by some 5% in 2023 ytd. Global sustainable/ESG debt issuance was down over 15% to $1.3 trillion in 2022, from $1.5 trillion in 2021. We project global ESG debt issuance to climb to $1.7 trillion in 2023 and near $2 trillion in 2024.

The ESG debt universe is fast approaching the $5 trillion mark, up from $3.4 trillion in 2021. While rising global rates weighed on total issuance in 2022, issuance in emerging markets remained strong, reaching an all-time high of $260 billion—mostly driven by China.

ESG backlash will continue to be a headwind for market development, but there are many reasons for optimism...

We are pleased to share the latest edition of our new quarterly chartbook, designed to monitor sustainable flows (to ESG funds, climate finance flows, and climate finance to emerging markets), ESG market development, the electric vehicle industry, and the evolution of the voluntary carbon market.  The chartbook also includes our regular ESG Country Scorecard—a useful indicator of progress in areas including carbon efficiency as well as broader environmental and social issues in emerging and frontier markets. We welcome your comments!

With higher interest rates weighing on issuance, global debt edged lower again in Q3 2022, to some $290 trillion.

The ESG debt universe has grown rapidly, to near $4.5tr in Q322, up from $3tr in Q321 and $1.5tr in Q320. However, overall ESG debt issuance has slowed sharply this year amid broader debt market disruption.