DBSA launches its first Green Bond worth €200 million

South African state owned development finance institution DBSA this week announced the launch of its first green bond. The €200m (R3.59 billion) bond was issued through a private placement with the French development finance institution, the Agence Française de Développement (AFD). The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is looking to increase its role in climate finance and accelerate the Green Economy.

The bond will be structured in alignment with the Bank’s recently released Green Bond Framework which reiterates the DBSA’s commitment to playing a role in the just transition to a low carbon economy. The Framework is aligned with the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) Green Bond Principles.

DBSA’s role in driving SA’s renewable energy sector

In recent years, the DBSA has become an increasingly important player in climate finance. The Bank was instrumental in the development of the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producers Programme (REIPPP) and is accredited to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF).

In partnership with the GCF, the DBSA has implemented large scale programmes which support the transition to a low carbon economy, including the Climate Finance Facility (CFF), a lending facility set up to encourage private sector investment in climate related projects in Southern Africa and the Embedded Generation Investment Programme (EGIP), a facility to support embedded generation renewable energy projects in South Africa.  

Green Bond to finance climate projects in SA 

The DBSA is also an active member of the International Development Finance Club (IDFC), a network of national, regional and multilateral development banks and finance institutions that promotes and leverages sustainable development investment in support of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the Paris Agreement.

The DBSA green bond issuance will be applied to projects that contribute to climate mitigation and /or adaptation, that are aligned to South Africa’s National Development Plan’ (NDP) objective of an “environmentally sustainable and equitable transition to a low carbon economy” and that are aligned to the Sustainable Development Goals.