Mobilising bonds for the just transition: an exploratory assessment methodology of thematic sovereign bonds

This report presents a novel methodology to assess the presence of just transition elements in green, social, sustainability and sustainability-linked (GSS+) bond frameworks. This methodology demonstrates how GSS+ bonds can be leveraged for the just transition, which can inform both issuers’ bond design and investor decision-making. The authors classify certain GSS+ bond framework characteristics – eligible expenditures, performance targets and post-issuance reporting – as just transition-related where activities cover both climate change mitigation and one of the following social themes: education, employment or equality. Where there is a causal link between the mitigation and social activities in question, the expenditure, target or reporting is considered just transition-focused. Using this methodology, they assess nearly all existing sovereign GSS+ bond frameworks, amounting to 68 in total, finding moderate evidence that just transition elements are present.