ONTARIO’S SECOND GREEN BOND ISSUE, $750M, 50% BIGGER THAN FIRST ISSUE

Ontario has successfully issued its second green bond, raising $750 million to support environmentally friendly, low-carbon infrastructure projects.

Proceeds from the bond will help fund eight projects, improving transit, education, health care and creating jobs in communities across Ontario.

Ontario is making the largest infrastructure investment in the province’s history – more than $134 billion over 10 years, which is making 110,000 jobs possible every year across the province, with projects such as roads, bridges, transit systems, schools and hospitals.

Green bonds help support Ontario’s efforts to fight climate change, alongside initiatives including the province’s Climate Change Strategy, working with industry and other partners on the design of a cap and trade program, ending coal-fired electricity generation and electrifying and improving Ontario’s commuter rail network.

Utilizing innovative financing tools like green bonds is part of the government’s plan to build Ontario up and deliver on its number-one priority to grow the economy and create jobs. The four-part plan includes investing in people’s talents and skills, making the largest investment in public infrastructure in the province’s history, creating a dynamic, supportive environment where business thrives and building a secure retirement savings plan.

QUICK FACTS

  • Pioneered by the World Bank in 2008, green bonds are a tool to raise capital for a project with specific environmental benefits.
  • This set of Ontario green bonds was issued globally, primarily to institutional investors.
  • Altogether, 52 investors participated in the trade, including investors with green mandates and/or United Nations-supported Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) signatories representing 70 per cent of overall sales. The PRI is an international network of investors’ working to incorporate sustainability issues into their investment decision making and ownership practices.
  • On January 22, 2016, Ontario successfully priced a $750 million bond with a maturity date of January 27, 2023.

For additional information visit: https://news.ontario.ca/mof/en/2016/02/ontario-raises-750-million-with-second-green-bond.html