The volume of ESG bonds issued on the Russian market will grow by 50% in 2023 – Kommersant

The volume of placed ESG bonds by the end of 2023 will amount to 115 billion rubles, said Vladimir Gorchakov, director of the sustainable development risk assessment group of the Analytical Credit Rating Agency (ACRA). business breakfast, organized by the Kommersant Publishing House. According to him, taking into account the segment of national and adaptation projects of the sustainable development sector of the Moscow Exchange, the issue volume will exceed 160 billion rubles. This is 50% more than last year’s output, but less than the record year of 2021.

At the same time, as Mr. Gorchakov clarified, the approval of the document on social taxonomy, which is planned until the end of 2023, will have a limited impact on the bond market. “All other things being equal, issuers that operate in the market will tend to look primarily at national standards. There is a high probability that issuers will select projects more carefully and undergo the necessary verification procedures, but in the absence of benefits, this may be a certain kind of limitation for the market in terms of volumes, rather than an incentive,” said Mr. Gorchakov.

The taxonomy of social projects is a national standard for social financial instruments, which was developed by VEB.RF together with the Ministry of Economy. Its main goal is to identify what may be social projects and attract investment in them, helping to solve public problems. The taxonomy in the field of green finance was adopted in Russia in September 2021.