Plain meaning
A bond whose proceeds are allocated to eligible environmental, climate, or sustainability-related expenditures under a published framework.
Also called
green bonds
Key points
- A green bond is still debt: investors lend to the issuer and receive interest under the bond terms.
- The green label refers to how proceeds are allocated, not to a different borrower or a different basic repayment obligation.
- Government green-bond frameworks usually describe eligible spending categories and reporting expectations.
- Issuance size, term, order-book demand, and investor mix can signal market appetite for sustainable-finance products.
- For ReFocus articles, green bonds matter when they affect public borrowing, climate spending, infrastructure finance, or fiscal reporting.
Why it comes up
Green bond issuance shows how governments finance eligible climate and infrastructure spending through debt markets rather than only through current tax revenue.