Another Australian state government has issued a green bond to fund various projects to reduce the state’s reliance on carbon energy.
Western Australia has issued a 10-year bond raising $1.9 billion support the state’s significant investment to decarbonise the electricity grid. The issuance attracted more than $6 billion in bids from more than 60 investors.
The green bond is a “use of proceeds bond.” It supports eligible projects delivering positive environmental outcomes, such as the state’s significant investment to decarbonise the main electricity grid. This includes batteries and wind farms, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and rebates and standalone power systems.
The issue of the bond follows more than two years of work done by the Western Australian Treasury Corporation as they coordinated across government agencies to outline the State’s Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) credentials to domestic and international investors.
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“The successful issue of the State’s inaugural green bond is a key milestone in the evolution of our borrowing program. It reflects the State Government’s significant investments in initiatives that deliver positive environment, social and governance outcomes,” Treasurer Rita Saffioti said.
“The green bond issue was heavily oversubscribed, highlighting the confidence investors have in our commitment to deliver projects with positive environmental outcomes and our strong financial performance.”
Victoria was the first state government in Australia to use green bonds.
The Australian Federal Government is introducing a Sovereign Green Bond program in 2024 enabling investors to back public projects driving Australia’s net zero transformation and boosting the scale and credibility of Australia’s green finance market.
