In a well-received $1 billion offering, India sold its first "green bonds" issued by a sovereign nation, a development that analysts said was encouraging for the country's capacity to finance the significant investments required to meet its climate goals.
The government sold Rs 80bn ($1bn) worth of five- and 10-year debt, achieving a “greenium”, or a lower borrowing cost than it would for a conventional bond of similar maturity.
The 10-year bond was priced at a coupon of 7.29 per cent, which was 0.06 percentage points lower than for comparable sovereign debt. India, which has 1.4 billion people and is the third-largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world, is expected to surpass China as the most populated nation this year.
It has also stated that being a tropical nation with a lengthy coastline and the Himalayas in the north, it faces a greater difficulty than most other nations in adjusting to rising temperatures and altered weather patterns.
By 2030, the administration of Narendra Modi has promised to reduce the intensity of emissions in India's gross domestic product by 45% and boost the contribution of non-fossil fuel sources of energy to 50% of installed capacity from the current 40%.
