Green Bonds are an increasingly important financial tool in helping to mitigate the climate crisis. Last month, ISLP conducted a virtual panel on Green Bonds for an audience of civil society groups in Brazil, Colombia, and Peru. The audience consisted of several local community organizations that are grantees of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation’s Amazon-Andes Initiative. Protecting their habitat in the Amazon from destructive development is crucial for the wellbeing of local communities – as well as for the rest of us.
The Green Bonds panel was designed to give a broad overview of this fundraising vehicle that could support more sustainable development practices in this sensitive ecosystem. It covered: (i) Green Bond fundamentals, such as key characteristics, how they are structured, and market trends in Latin America; (ii) the role of independent review and second-party opinions; (iii) challenges in the Green Bonds space; and (iv) a lively Q&A for participants who wanted to hone in on specifics related to their respective community-based organizations.
We are grateful for the time and talent our law firm and NGO volunteers contributed to this impactful event. Contributors included: Jason Ewart and Carlos Ardila of Latham & Watkins; Cristovao Alves, Manager of Sustainable Investment at Sitawi – Finance for Good, a Brazilian firm that specializes in sustainable finance; and Luciana Aquino, an angel investor as well as senior fellow and researcher at the Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment (CCSI).