Switzerland plans to issue its first green bond

Switzerland’s Federal Finance Administration (FFA) has said that the government will issue its first “green confederation bond” in the autumn. The FFA says that proceeds from the bonds will go towards “green expenditure” that has been approved by the Swiss Parliament, which amounts to CHF 4.5bn (€4.68bn/$4.70bn). The expected target areas of projects include public transport, biodiversity and green R&D expenditure. Although the actual details such as volume, yield and maturities will depend on market conditions at the time of launch, the government expects the issuance volume to run into several hundred million Swiss francs annually and will be guided by the country’s sustainability strategy. The FFA said: “The framework adopted by the Federal Council during its meeting on 17 August 2022 forms the basis for issuing green confederation bonds in the future. It shows how the bonds will be integrated into the federal government's sustainability strategy, which green expenditure from the federal budget can be allocated to green confederation bonds and how this expenditure will be reported.” It added that, in preparing the framework, the federal government had been guided by the Green Bond Principles of the International Capital Market Association.