You call it green bonds, transition bonds, or sustainability financing - I think the key challenge for all these has been the ability to correlate the investments with some measurable quantum of decarbonization. I'm not saying it is easy to do, but some reliable standards and benchmarks need to evolve soon.
While financial investments in sectors such as solar and wind power have been able to show tangible, co-relatable decarbonization gains, the same cannot be said for investments in sectors such as biomass heating or power, waste to energy, etc. As we broaden the decarbonization sectors in domains such as agriculture and other nature-based investments, such correlations can be even harder to come by unless clear templates for measurements and benchmarks are established.
Else, the suspicion of greenwashing will linger over many of these projects.
