The Jamaica Stock Exchange affirms its commitment as a Sustainable Stock Exchange through innovative green investment product offerings.
What are Green Bonds?
Green bonds are debt instruments which are issued for the exclusive purpose of providing funding to support environmentally friendly, climate-related projects. Such projects are commonly focused on:
- Renewable energy and energy efficiency
- Waste management
- Efficient transport systems
- Sustainable housing
- Green/sustainable infrastructure, amongst others.
With green bonds, there is also the requirement of transparency, as reports on the use and management of proceeds, in keeping with the stated objectives, must be made available to investors and the public on a regular basis.
Beneficiaries of a Green Bond Listing
The Government and Regulators
Green bonds can facilitate the establishment of public-private partnerships, which can in turn encourage green investment and lead to the adoption of new technologies in green financing.
Brokers
Green bonds allow brokers the opportunity to diversify their client base.
Issuers
Green bonds have the potential to attract strong investor demand, which can then lead to high oversubscription and pricing benefits.
Investors
Green bonds can provide comparable financial returns with the addition of environmental and/or social benefits.
The Environment
Green bonds can provide long term, sustainable sources of funding to support preservation and restoration of the environment.
The Green, Social, Sustainable And Sustainability-Linked (GSS+) Bond Guide
This guidance document is a result of a cooperation between the Jamaica Stock Exchange (“JSE”) and the Inter-American Investment Corporation (“IDB Invest”) with technical support provided by sustainable finance consulting firm, HPL.LLC (“HPL”). The purpose of the guide is to provide the Jamaican market with tools for the issuance of Green, Social, Sustainability, and Sustainability-Linked Bonds (“GSS+” or “thematic” bonds) and thus influence the advancement towards sustainable financing in the country. The guide builds on the requirements for bond issuance regulation in Jamaica by providing additional information on what is needed for GSS+ bonds, clarifying the main components for issuing bonds in line with recognized market practices and providing recommendations on best practices in the market that have contributed to the transparency and integrity of the issuances.
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