Spanish Treasury Plans to Reopen Green Bond Issue Next Year

(Bloomberg) -- Spain plans to reopen its debut green bond issue next year to fund projects that mitigate climate change, tapping into the hot market for sustainable debt. 

Treasury Secretary General Carlos Cuerpo said the government is reviewing its portfolio of environmentally-linked programs to decide on the amount it will auction. After September’s inaugural sale that was arranged via banks, the government has a balance of over 8 billion euros ($9.1 billion) worth of projects to finance with the proceeds of issuing green bonds, he said. 

“In an environment with a growing number of green issuances, both public and private, we need to be able to keep demand high with a base of high-quality projects,” Cuerpo said in an interview. “We need to keep that differential factor.”

Spain raised 5 billion euros from its first green bond sale, pulling in orders of more than 60 billion euros for the debt maturing in 2042.

With the need to address climate change becoming a growing priority for governments and electorates, countries around the world are piling into the market to finance a greener recovery from the pandemic.

Green bond sales by European governments and related public sector issuers jumped to $136 billion this year from $61 billion in 2020, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

Cuerpo said the government planned to keep its net debt issuance stable next year at around 75 billion euros with the option to adjust if needed. 

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