Start 2023 learning about sustainable finance

Climate Bonds' GSS+ Bonds Training 

As the leading fixed-income debt instrument, green bonds have also paved the way for the appearance of other thematic-labelled bonds. New labels and formats contributing to long-term environmental and social projects have arisen to further expand the labelled bond market, which is a clear signal that issuers and investors are highly committed to a greener, fairer, and more sustainable world.

Cognizant of the rapid growth and relevance of the labelled bond market and bearing in mind the strong appetite for these innovative debt instruments, the Climate Bonds Initiative has structured a comprehensive course on green, social, sustainability, transition, and other use-of-proceeds bonds (GSS+ bonds) for a variety of professional eager to acquire broad knowledge on these tools. Climate Bond Initiative’s GSS+ Bonds Training blends a set of elements and information which aim at providing an overview of GSS+ instruments in a thorough and robust manner.

The content of this capacity-building session touches upon global aspects of the agenda and the market’s comprehension of the topic while covering the needs of different audiences through a set of different training tools including learning modules, case studies, interactive discussions, and exercises to provide a valuable and diverse learning experience to participants.

Who this course is for

The proposed programme targets groups and individuals from the public and private sectors as well as members of civil society who are interested in learning about how sustainable finance, in general, and thematic labelled bonds, in particular, can incite the adoption of more sustainable practices in our economies. These include:

• Issuers, potential issuers, or any organisation with bonding authority, e.g., governments, corporations, banks, etc.
• Investors, e.g., mainstream institutional investors, ESG specialists and responsible investors, corporate treasury, sovereign and municipal governments, retail investors, insurance companies, etc.
• Key actors supporting the sustainable finance agenda, e.g., underwriters, lawyers, external reviewers, credit ratings/indices, exchanges, regulators and supervisors, fiduciary agents, and financial auditors.
• Other organisations upholding the sustainable finance agenda, such as think tanks, not-for-profit organisations, etc.

The programme is suitable for introductory-level learners, individuals with knowledge and experience related to sustainable finance, or professionals working directly or indirectly with the issuance of new bonds at different levels of knowledge and experience.

Pre-requirement

The course has no specific pre-requirements.

Expected learning outcomes

The GSS+ Bonds Training objective is to provide an overall understanding of the role of thematic labelled bonds in shifting financial practices to more sustainable approaches while providing an overview of how these bonds impact the way the market perceives sustainability and what attracts investors and issuers to the GSS+ bonds market. Additionally, this training aims to discuss in detail the use-of-proceeds labelled bond issuance process and provide comprehensive information on the GSS+ bonds market’s size, key stakeholders, key investment themes, among other key elements.

Participants in the training program can expect to acquire solid knowledge and be able to respond to the following questions at the end of the sessions:

• What are thematic labelled bonds, their differences and similarities?
• How has the labelled bond market evolved in the past years?
• What are the common forms and benefits of thematic labelled bonds?
• Who are the actors involved in the GSS+ bonds issuance process, their roles, and responsibilities?
• What is the market infrastructure supporting the issuance of GSS+ bonds (principles, standards, taxonomies, etc.)? 
• What are the key policy developments that can help scale up the market? 
• What are the requirements for use-of-proceeds labelled bond issuances (from inception to maturity)? 
• What are the contents and characteristics of a use-of-proceeds labelled bond framework?
• What are the external review methodologies currently available in the market?
• What is the process for Climate Bonds certification?
• How did the GSS+ bond market start?
• What has been the evolution of the GSS+ bond market?What are sovereign and sub-sovereign GSS+ bonds?
• What is the market’s forecast for the coming years?

LIVE VIRTUAL SESSION

FEBRUARY

English

Date: 21, 22 and 23 February 2023

7.5 hours of training

(3 sessions of 2.5 hours)

Each day at:  

8:00am - 10:30am GMT (London)

09:00am - 11:30am CET (Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam)

10:00am - 12:30pm SAST (Johannesburg)

1:30pm - 4:00pm IST (New Delhi)

3:00pm - 5:30pm ICT, WIB (Bangkok, Hanoi, Jakarta)

4:00pm - 6:30pm HKT, SGT (Hong Kong, Singapore)

7:00pm - 9:30pm AEDT (Sydney)