World's No. 1 Oil Exporter Lures ESG Investors With Green Bonds
Saudi plans to raise billions of dollars in coming months as environmental, social and governance investors seek more details about planned issuance.
Photographer: Faisal Al-Nasser/AFP/Getty Images
With the biggest member of the world’s No. 1 oil cartel readying its first-ever green bond, sustainable investors are debating what to make of it.
Saudi Arabia’s plan to enter the market for green bonds marks a watershed moment. Some investors say it represents an encouraging step for the oil-addicted Gulf state to plot a path away from fossil fuels. Others are asking for credible evidence the debt will genuinely be green. The upshot, though, is that the biggest oil exporter on the planet is likely to find plenty of buyers for a bond it says will be climate friendly.