Tokyo to Raise $330 Million in First-Ever Climate Resilience Bond Offering – ESG Today

The Tokyo Metropolitan Authorities (TMG) introduced plans to situation TOKYO Resilience Bonds, the first-ever licensed local weather resilience bonds, with proceeds geared toward funding initiatives to guard town from pure disasters and the impacts of local weather change.

The TMG mentioned that it expects to boost roughly JPY 50 billion (USD$330 million) from the resilience bond providing.

In line with the TMG, the proceeds raised beneath the providing shall be used completely for initiatives beneath the TOKYO Resilience Undertaking, with a deal with local weather change adaptation and resilience. Launched in 2022, the TOKYO Resilience Undertaking challenge is geared toward rising the security and safety of town from key catastrophe dangers, together with storm and flood, main earthquakes, ash from volcanic eruptions, disruption of energy provide and communication companies, and unfold of a brand new infectious illness.

The brand new providing plans comply with publication of the finalized TOKYO Resilience Bonds Framework, outlining the eligible use and administration of proceeds from resilience bond choices. Eligible initiatives to be used of proceeds will goal addressing more and more extreme storm and flood disasters brought on by local weather change, embody upgrading small and medium-sized rivers to boost flood resilience, growing and upgrading coastal safety services, reinforcing river infrastructure, undergrounding utility poles to stop collapse within the occasion of a catastrophe, growing and upgrading sediment catastrophe prevention and coastal safety services, and renovating port services to guard distant islands susceptible to typhoons and coastal hazards.

Yamashita Satoshi, Director Basic, Bureau of Finance, Tokyo Metropolitan Authorities:

“In Japan and world wide, it has change into an pressing precedence to handle more and more extreme storms and floods brought on by world warming. Towards this backdrop, the Tokyo Metropolitan Authorities (TMG) has determined to situation the TOKYO Resilience Bond, establishing a brand new mannequin of financing that helps investments in local weather change adaptation measures.”

The brand new bond is the primary to be licensed beneath the Local weather Bonds Resilience Standards and Taxonomy, lately launched by local weather finance group Local weather Bonds Initiative, geared toward increasing the main target of local weather bonds certification from mitigation pathways and transition to additionally embody adaptation and resilience finance.

Sean Kidney, CEO of Local weather Bonds Initiative, mentioned:

“By directing capital into initiatives that safeguard hundreds of thousands of residents from floods, storm surges and typhoons, the Tokyo Metropolitan Authorities is setting a precedent for cities all over the place to put money into resilience. This primary Certification beneath the Resilience Taxonomy creates a brand new technology of resilience and adaptation-focused finance, a landmark second for the sustainable finance market.”