New Delhi, Feb. 7 -- The government may move away from green bonds to fall back on conventional government securities and other debt instruments for green financing in the coming years, as these so-called 'climate' and 'sustainable' bonds have delivered only modest returns, two people aware of the matter told Mint.

While, many developed markets achieve a greenium - or green premium - of 3-8 basis points over conventional bonds in India, this has been limited to just 2 to 3 bps at most, the first person mentioned above said. One basis point is a hundredth of a percentage point.

Greenium isthe difference between the yield or the return investors receive on a green bond and that from a similar conventional bond.

It's the amount by which t...