PARIS – France has issued a record 7 billion euros ($7.5 billion) in so-called green treasury bonds, a boost to efforts to generate investment in clean energy.
The French government celebrated the higher than expected demand for Tuesday’s bond issue. President François Hollande called on others to follow France’s example.
The 22-year bonds that will go exclusively toward green energy spending were sold to banks, insurers and other institutional investors at a 1.75 percent interest rate, comparable to classic government bonds for the same period.
Other countries and funds have experimented with green bonds, but France’s issue Tuesday was exceptional in its size and duration.
Hollande’s government has championed green bonds since hosting the 2015 Paris Agreement, which aims to fight global warming by reducing carbon emissions and investing in renewable energy.