MICROCAPITAL BRIEF: LAGreen, UNEP-FI Promoting Green Bonds with Training in 8 Countries in Latin America, Caribbean

The Latin American Green Bond Fund (LAGreen), a Luxembourg-based investor in projects deemed sustainable, and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Finance Initiative, a public-private partnership, recently delivered a training series for banks in the Dominican Republic and Latin America to encourage them to invest in bonds that fund impact-oriented projects. Examples of efforts LAGreen has funded in the past include “certified aquaculture, small-scale solar PV [photovoltaic] projects, water treatment plants for SMEs [small and medium-sized enterprises] in the industrial, agriculture and tourism sectors, as well as the financing of equipment for the measurement and control of vehicle emissions in urban centers.”

LAGreen issues green bonds and provides related technical advice to Latin American institutions. The fund seeks to invest USD 500 million by 2025. It was initiated by the German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW) and is funded by the EU and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, which is also known by its German acronym BMZ. LAGreen is managed by Germany’s Finance in Motion.

The UNEP Finance Initiative is a partnership among UNEP and 468 members of the financial sector that work to understand the impact of environmental factors and “social considerations” on financial performance. UNEP was established in 1972 and seeks “to provide leadership and encourage partnership in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing and enabling nations and peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future generations.” UNEP’s budget for 2020 and 2021 combined was USD 921 million.

By Nithin Naren, Research Associate

Sources and Additional Resources

LAGreen press release
https://lagreen.lu/lagreen-and-unep-fi-join-forces-to-deliver-green-bond-training-series-for-the-banking-sector-in-eight-latin-american-and-caribbean-countries/

LAGreen pitch book
https://lagreen.lu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/LAGreen-Pitch-Book.pdf

Previous LAGreen press release on green bonds
https://lagreen.lu/lagreen-and-gf-mega-join-forces-to-promote-sustainability-bonds-focused-on-green-projects-in-mexico/

UNEP financial statements
https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/37946/UNEP_AR2021.pdf

Previous MicroCapital article on UNEP-FI
https://www.microcapital.org/microfinance-event-2013-sustainable-finance-week-14th-global-roundtable-of-united-nations-environment-programme-finance-initiative-unep-fi-beijing-china-november-10-15/

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