GSS bond issuance reaches highest annual figure in 3 years

Written by Adam Cadle

06/02/2025

The Green, Social, and Sustainability (GSS) bond market reached its highest point in three years – with issuances hitting just under $1trn ($966bn) in 2024, according to the latest quarterly GSS report by MainStreet Partners.

This marks an 8% increase on 2023 issuances and means that total cumulative GSS bond issuance has exceeded the $5.5trn mark.

Green bond issuance had its second most active year in 2024 since market inception and the most active Q1 on record, accounting for 58% of issuance during the year – reaching $561bn. Social bond issuances saw the biggest increase in 2024 hitting $251bn, while sustainability bond issuance suffered the largest drop to $152bn (2023: $203bn).

Transition bonds also saw a revival displaying significant growth activity in 2024, particularly led by Japanese issuers.

The market remains European-centric, with approximately 60% of total issuance volumes coming from European issuers, and 56% from EUR-denominated bonds. Asia, amidst rapid regulatory advances, keeps a notable presence in the social and sustainability bond market.

Pietro Sette, research director at MainStreet Partners, stated: "2024 has shown outstanding resilience of the GSS Bond market. The continued leadership of European issuers underlines the importance of a strong regulatory environment for the growth and improvement of the market.

“Despite the positive regulatory trend to date, the look-through approach under the new Paris Aligned Benchmark and Climate Transition Benchmark guidelines pose more than a question mark for fund managers who previously had an “issuer-focused” approach. The next few weeks will prompt some rethinking for investors and will further spur more engagement with issuers.”

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