Kestrel is pleased to share a study we worked on with Steer Davies Gleave for the European Commission to support development of the EU Taxonomy for the Aviation sector. The study results will help the Commission, supported by the Platform on Sustainable Finance, to design a methodology to assess the green impacts of projects and investment in the aviation sector.
Regional Transportation District-Denver (RTD) issued their first Certified Climate Bonds in February 2021. RTD provides transit services to over 3 million people in around Denver, Colorado and refinanced transit system expansion and maintenance projects with the 2021 bond offering that are expected to enable major reductions in transit sector greenhouse gas emissions. As an external reviewer, Kestrel verified that the refinanced projects meet the stringent qualitative standards of the Climate Bonds Initiative’s Transport Criteria.
In an industry first, Connecticut Green Bank is launching a retail climate bond series in which all of the proceeds generated from the roughly $16.1 million issuance will support rooftop solar deployment in the state. Connecticut Green Bank’s new category of climate bond, which it calls “Green Liberty Bonds,” are modeled after the Series-E war bonds that half of all Americans bought during World War II. The Climate Bonds Initiative certified the bonds and Kestrel Verifiers will report on the bonds over time.
PACE Funding Group, LLC, a California-based specialty finance company, announced today that it completed a $ 107 million securitization of residential Property Assessed Clean Energy (PACE) assets. The financing supported property improvements for energy efficiency, renewable energy, water conservation, and hurricane resiliency measures. Kestrel Verifiers provided a Second Party Opinion to support the green bonds designation for the senior notes.
Municipal “green bond” designations by various market participants are complicating how investors domestically and internationally view and understand the market for those bonds. Kestrel, a Climate Bonds Initiative Approved Verifier, describes how external reviews following internationally accepted standards help contribute to the standardization and growth of the green bond market.
The Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewerage District (MMSD), one of the nation’s largest and most highly regarded leaders in wastewater treatment, stormwater management, and green infrastructure issued the first-ever Certified Climate Bond for a combined wastewater and stormwater program in the United States. The bond was verified by Kestrel Verifiers, a Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI) Approved Verifier, and Woman-Owned Small Business, based in the US.
Kestrel Verifiers is offering a new service that lets underwriters add green, social and sustainable designations to competitive municipal bond sales.
Connecticut Green Bank unveiled its plans to bring to market approximately $15 to $20 million of new $1,000 face value “Green Liberty Bonds” in recognition of the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Last year, the Green Bank worked with Kestrel Verifiers to certify the 2019 notes against the Climate Bonds Standard. The Green Bank considers Kestrel to be the “gold standard” in green bond verification and has engaged the firm to verify the new Green Liberty Bonds.
The public pension, the second-biggest in the nation, is selling $281 million in tax-exempt municipal green bonds at a time when wealthy Californians are snapping up such debt to drive down their tax bills and when buyers are increasingly seeking investments intended to lessen the impact of climate change. Kestrel Verifiers provided an external review on the alignment of the securities with the Climate Bonds Standard.