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Article from Ministry of Finance

The green bond framework

Published

Swedish National Debt Office is instructed by the Government to issue green bonds in 2020 at the latest. The framework differentiates between green bonds and other bonds, and will demonstrate how the proceeds from the bonds are linked to the green expenditures in the central government budget. The framework was presented 5 June 2020.

Illustration: Jan Gerscher/Government Offices of Sweden

About the framework

A green bond is a type of bond in which the money raised is used to finance various kinds of environmental and climate initiatives. The investors in these bonds must be able to monitor what the money is linked to and what environmental and climate impact it achieves. Therefore, the green bond framework offers a transparent way to ensure that the bonds are green by describing how green bonds are defined and selected, monitored, recorded, reported and externally reviewed in accordance with the market standard Green Bond Principles (GBP). 

The Government is responsible for preparing the framework and selecting the green expenditures from the central government budget.

Sweden's sovereign green bond framwork
Questions and answers about the green bond framework

External review

The green bond framework has been reviewed by The Norwegian Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO). Sweden is the first country to receive a grade of dark green.

CICERO’s green bond second opinion

Next step

Now that the framework and selection are in place, the Swedish National Debt Office will sell the green bonds on the capital market at an appropriate time in the course of this year. They will announce the exact timing at a later date. The issue will then be evaluated.

About green bonds at the Swedish National Debt Office

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