India, Jan. 12 -- Sustainable debt worth $732 billion issued globally; $305 billion of that in green bonds

The novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic may have affected several efforts to combat climate change in 2020, but it did not slow down the nascent sustainable debt sector. A record $732.1 billion (Rs 53.6 lakh crore) worth sustainable bonds and loans were issued last year, 29 per cent more than in 2019, according to a recent report.

Green bonds, the oldest of the sustainable debt instruments, rose 13 per cent to set an issuance record of $305.3 billion.

Social and sustainability bonds grew consistently while green bonds surged later in the year, according to the report released January 11, 2020 by energy research organisat...