Econ Ministry sees Russian green bond market reaching 1.5 trln rubles by 2030

MOSCOW. Nov 10 (Interfax) - Russia's Economic Development Ministry expects the country's green bond market to reach 1.5 billion rubles by 2030, Deputy Minister Ilya Torosov said at the session on "Decarbonization and Energy Transition in Russia: Opportunities for Foreign Investors" at the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow.

"Our plan to 2030 is a green bond market volume of at least 1.5 trillion rubles. But an even more ambitious objective is that one in ten rubles, meaning 10% of all expenditures on investment in the decarbonisation of the Russian economy, we hope, will be raised through green financing," Torosov said.

Earlier on Tuesday during events at the Russian pavilion at COP26, the deputy head of state lender VEB.RF, Alexei Miroshnichenko said that about 200 billion rubles worth of green bonds have now been issued on the Russian market. The ministry therefore expects the country's green bond market to grow by 650% by the end of the decade.

The global green bond market currently amounts to $3.5 billion, Climate Bonds Initiative CEO Sean Kidney said.

Torosov also said that his ministry is not yet developing measures to support green financing.

"World practice shows that there are no support measures for green financing primarily because supply is significantly smaller than demand, what's more severalfold. And there is still an upside for the development of green bonds. We'll put this matter aside, think on it, see a year or two. If the market does not develop at the rate we need, then of course we'll return to this issue and, I think, find ways to support Russian bonds," Torosov said.