IEEFA2026欧洲银行绿色债券缺口报告释放绿色标签资金助力欧洲能源转型

September2026

InstituteforEnergyEconomicsandFinancialAnalysis

Europeanbanks'greenbondgap

Howbankscanunleashgreen-labelledfundingtosupportEurope'senergytransition

KevinLeung,SustainableFinanceAnalyst,DebtMarkets,Europe

Europeanbanks’greenbondgap2

Contents

Keyfindings 3

Executivesummary 4

Introduction:BanksarecentraltoEurope’sresilience 5

Bankshavenotunleashedthepotentialofgreenbondfunding 7

Banks’greenbondprogrammesdonotcoherentlysupportEurope’sobjectives 9

Assetallocationisskewedawayfromdirectcleanenergyinvestments 9

Bonds’environmentalreturnsvarysubstantiallyacrossbankissuers 11

Broadersustainablefundinginstrumentsremainunderdeveloped 15

Conclusion:Banks’greenbondsneedtomovefrommarketmaturitytostrategicrelevance 16

Appendix:ListofEuropeanbanks 18

AboutIEEFA 20

Abouttheauthor 20

Figuresandtables

Figure1:Europe’sgreenbondissuancebyissuertype(2025) 6

Figure2:Europe’sgreenbondissuancebyissuertype(firsthalfof2026) 6

Figure3:Europe’sbiggestbanksarenotitsbiggestgreenbondissuers 8

Figure4:Bankgreenbonds’allocatedproceedsbycategory 10

Figure5:Renewableenergydelivershigherenvironmentalreturnsthangreenbuildingsinbanks'

greenbondallocations 12

Figure6:Withinbanks'greenbondportfolios,renewableenergydrivesmostavoidedemissions

despiteaccountingforaminorityofproceeds 12

Figure7:Europeanbankgreenbondshavevaryingenvironmentalreturns 13

Figure8:AmongEurope’s47largestbanks,just15accountfor75%ofgreenbondproceeds

allocatedtorenewableenergyandenergyefficiency 14

Figure9:Top10banksbyimpactofgreenbondsonavoidedemissions 14

Europeanbanks'greenbondgap

Keyfindings

MostofEurope's47largestbankshaveestablishedgreenbondprogrammeswithclearallocationreporting.Butissuanceremainstoosmallrelativetotheirmarket-basedfundingtomateriallyreduceclimateriskexposure.

Renewableenergyandgridmodernisationdeliversignificantlyhigheravoidedemissionspereuroinvestedthangreenmortgages.However,banks,despitetheirdiversifiedbusinesses,stillallocatethemajorityoftheirgreenbond

investmentstotheretailmortgagesector.

Banksclearlyhaveroomtogrowtheirgreenbondissuancebyusing

unallocatedeligibleassetsandbetteridentifyingfurthereligibleexposures.Moreimportantly,diversifiedbanksshouldexpandtheirunderlyinggreenportfolios,particularlyasmanyofthebiggerEuropeanbankshavelow

investmentinrenewableenergy.

Banksshouldintegrategreenbondfundingmoreexplicitlyintotheirbroadersustainablefinanceandtransitionplanningstrategies,potentiallyalongsideotherinnovativefinancingstructures.Thiswouldhelpdirectcapitalmore

effectivelytowardsEurope'stransitionandresilienceagenda.

InstituteforEnergyEconomicsandFinancialAnalysis

Europeanbanks’greenbondgap4

Executivesummary

EuropeanbanksarecentraltofinancingEurope’stransitionandresilienceagenda.Despitethe

region’sfragmentedbankingsystem,Europe’sbankingsectorhaswidelyestablishedamarket-

basedgreen-labelledfundingchannel,withfinancialinstitutionsaccountingforaround30%ofgreenbondissuanceinEurope.Thischannelprovidesanopportunitytoraisefundsforgreenand

transition-relatedassets.

IEEFAreviewedthegreenbondstrategiesofEurope’s47largestbanks.Thebankshavecombinedassetsexceeding€35trillion,andmanyhavediversifiedretail,corporateandmarketsbusinesses.Thefindingsshowthatmostbankshaveestablishedgreenbondframeworks,issuedgreenbondsandpublishedallocationreports.Greenbondissuancerequiresbankstoidentify,classifyand

discloseeligiblegreenassetsingreaterdetailthanistypicallyprovidedingeneralsustainable

financereporting,improvingtransparency.SeveralbankshavetakenastepfurtherbyadoptingtheEuropeanGreenBondStandard,pointingtostrongercredibilityandcomparabilityinthemarket.

However,thepotentialofbankgreenbondsremainshighlyunderused.Greenfundingisstillsmall

relativetobanks’overallmarket-basedfundingandbalancesheets.Althoughmanybankspresent

greenbondprogrammesaspartoftheirbroadersustainablefinancestrategies,issuancehasnotyetscaledtoalevelthatmateriallychangesassetallocation.Asaresult,thecontributionofgreenbondstoreducingbanks’climateriskexposureremainslimited.

BankgreenbondprogrammesarealsonotconsistentlyalignedwithEurope’stransitionand

resilienceobjectives.Eligibleassetpoolsmaybeshapedbywhatismorereadilyavailableto

earmarkratherthanbytheareaswheretransitioninvestmentismosturgentlyneeded.Somelargediversifieduniversalbankshavelowinvestmentsrelatedtocleanenergysystems.Suchinvestmentsaccountforonlyaroundaquarterofoverallallocatedgreenbondproceeds.Gridinvestment,for

example,remainsunderrepresented,despitetherecognisedneedforextensivegridmodernisationandexpansiontogetherwithbanks’strongexistingrelationshipswithmajorEuropeantransmissionoperatorsforprovidingliquiditybackstop.

Environmentalreturnsvarysubstantiallyacrossuse-of-proceedscategories,andthereforeacrossissuers.Renewableenergygenerallydeliverssubstantiallyhigheravoidedemissionspereuro

investedthangreenbuildings,particularlywherebuildings’allocationsrefinanceassetsthatalreadymeetenergyperformancethresholdsratherthanfundrenovationsorretrofits.Asaresult,

environmentalimpactisconcentratedamongmoreadvancedissuerswithmoresignificantcleanenergyportfolios.

Othersustainablefundinginstrumentsdonotyetclosethisgap.Alternativelabels,suchastransitionfinance,arelessstandardisedandattimeslesscredibletoinvestors.Innovationisemergingthroughinstrumentssuchassustainability-linkedloanfinancingbonds,butissuanceremainsniche.

Sustainability-linkedstructuresalsoremainlimitedforbanks,despitethestructures’potentialto

Europeanbanks'greenbondgap5

InstituteforEnergyEconomicsandFinancialAnalysis

strengthenaccountability,particularlywhencombinedwithuse-of-proceedsfeaturesthatconnectbond-levelallocationwithissuer-leveltransitionprogress.

Themarkethasfurtherroomtogrow.Banksshouldintegrategreenfundingmoreexplicitlywith

sustainablefinancetargets,overalltransitionplanningandriskmanagement.ThiswouldstrengthentheroleofgreenfundingindirectingcapitalallocationtowardsEurope'stransitionandresilience

agenda.

Introduction:BanksarecentraltoEurope'sresilience

Creditinstitutions—thecentreofEurope'sfinancialsystem—sitattheintersectionofEurope's

increasinglyintertwinedtransitionandresilienceagenda,1whichspansenergysecurity,industrial

competitiveness,energyaffordability,andclimatemitigationandadaptation.Geopoliticaluncertaintyhasreinforcedthecaseforreducingdependenceonimportedfossilfuels²andacceleratingthe

deploymentofefficient,homegrownrenewableenergysystems.Inthiscontext,EUpolicyinitiativessuchastheCleanIndustrialDeal,GridsPackageandElectrificationActionPlanunderscoretheneedforfinancingtobuildsocio-economicresiliencethroughthetransitiontoacleanenergy-based

industrialsystem.

Creditinstitutionsplayasignificantroleinmobilisingthefundingneededtodeliverthisagenda:

Loansfromeurozonebanksaccountfornearly60%ofdebtfinanceforeuroareacorporates.³Atthesametime,creditinstitutionswillneedtomanagetheadversesystemicimpactsofadisorderlyor

delayedtransition,includingtransitionriskfromfossilfuelexposureandphysicalrisksarisingfrom

climatechange.Supervisoryandprudentialframeworkshavebecomeincreasinglyexplicit:The

EuropeanBankingAuthorityexpectsinstitutionstoidentify,measure,manageandmonitorclimate-relatedrisks,4withfurtherproposalstoaddressclimate-relatedsystemicrisks.5Theserolesforbanksarecomplementary:Byreallocatingcapitaltowardsenvironmentallysustainableinvestments,bankscansupportEurope'sresiliencewhilemitigatingclimate-relatedriskexposure.

CapitalmarketswillneedtoexpandtoaccelerateEurope'stransition.Greenbondscanbecomeanimportantmarket-basedfinancingchannelinthisrespect.Europe'sgreenbondmarkethasmaturedsignificantly,withcumulativeissuancesurpassingUSD2.5trillion.⁶Corporatesusegreenbondstoraisefundsforrealeconomycleanactivities,includingrenewableenergy,gridinfrastructureand

greeninnovation.Europeansupranationalorganisations,sovereignsandpublicentitiesissuelargebenchmarkbondsthatdeepenliquidityandhelpcatalysethemarket.Notably,financialinstitutionshavebecomeoneofthelargestsegmentsofEurope'sgreenbondmarket,accountingforaround

1SystemigandUniversityofOxford.TheResilienceNexus.3February2026.

2IEEFA.Onehundreddaysofdisruption:HowtheIranwarexposesEurope'senergyvulnerabilities.5June2026.

3EuropeanCentralBank.GreeninvestmentneedsintheEUandtheirfunding.2025.

4EuropeanBankingAuthority.TheEBApublishesitsfinalGuidelinesonthemanagementofESGrisks.9January2025.

5EuropeanBankingAuthority.EBAlaunchesconsultationonamendmentstoGuidelinesonthesystemicriskbuffer.29January

2026.

6Asof7July2026.Source:EnvironmentalFinanceData.

Europeanbanks'greenbondgap

InstituteforEnergyEconomicsandFinancialAnalysis

30%ofoverallgreenbondissuanceinEuropein2025andthefirsthalfof2026(Figures1and2).Forbanksandothercreditinstitutions,greenbondsserveasamarket-basedfundingchannelthatallowsthemtoraisefinanceandearmarkproceedsforeligiblegreenandtransition-relatedassetportfolios.

Figure1:Europe'sgreenbondissuanceby

issuertype(2025)

Governmentagency

Sovereign

Corporate

Municipal

Financial

institution

Supranational

Figure2:Europe'sgreenbondissuancebyissuertype(firsthalfof2026)

Governmentagency

Sovereign

Municipal

Financial

institution

Supranational

Source:EnvironmentalFinanceData,⁷IEEFASource:EnvironmentalFinanceData,IEEFA.

WhileEuropeanbankshavebecomemoreadvancedininstitutionalisingtheirsustainablefinancestrategies,market-basedfinancinginvolvingtheissuanceofsustainable(mainlygreen)debt

securitiesaccountsforonlyaround7%oftotaldebtsecuritiesissuedintheEU.8Nevertheless,themarkethassignificantpotentialtogrowasfundingneedsincrease.TheEuropeanGreenBond

Standard(EUGBS)providesanopportunitytostrengthencredibility,comparabilityandinvestorconfidence.9

BankgreenbondsarebecominganincreasinglyusefullensforassessingtheextenttowhichbankscontributetoEurope'sclimateandresilienceobjectives.Arobustcontributionisusuallyreflectedinacoherentframework,asignificantandcrediblegreenlendingportfolio,reportingqualityandsoundriskmanagement.

7PleaserefertoEnvironmentalFinanceData'smethodology.

8EuropeanCentralBank.GreeninvestmentneedsintheEUandtheirfunding.2025.

9IEEFA.WillEurope'snewstandardhelporhinderareenbondmarketarowth?19Februarv2024.

Europeanbanks’greenbondgap7

Againstthisbackdrop,thispaperexaminesEurope’s47largestbanks10—spanningdiversifiedretail,corporateandmarketsbusinesses—andanalysestherolethatsustainabledebtplaysintheir

market-basedfundingandbroadersustainablefinancestrategies.Thereportoutlineshowgreen

bondissuancesmapontobanks’underlyinggreenassetportfolios,andwhatenvironmentalimpactthefinancedassetsdeliver.InEurope’srelativelyfragmentedbankingsector,these47banks

representasystemicallyimportantsegmentofthefinancialsystem.Together,theyhavecombinedbalance-sheetassetsexceeding€35trillion,largelyconcentratedwithinEurope.

Bankshavenotunleashedthepotentialofgreenbondfunding

UnderIEEFA’sreview,44ofthe47bankshaveestablishedgreenbondframeworks,issuedgreenbondsandpublishedallocationreports,11indicatingthatthemarketsegmenthasbecomemature.SeveralbanksincludingABNAmro,BPCE,Nordea,DeutscheBankandDeutscheKreditbank(asubsidiaryofBayernLB)haveadoptedtheEUGBS,indicatinggrowingcredibilityinthemarket.

Totaloutstandinggreenbondsofthebanksassessedhavereached€240billion.12Thevolume

remainsasmallportionofthebanks’balancesheets,accountingforaround5%ofmarket-based

debtsecuritiesfundingandlessthan1%oftotalassetsonaverage.Thisindicatesthatwhilegreen

bondframeworksarewell-establishedformostbanksandareoftenpresentedascontributingtoorformingpartofanoverallsustainablefinancestrategy,greenfundinghasnotscaledtoameaningfullevel.Thelimitedsizepartlyreflectsthatthecorrespondinggreenlendingportfoliohasnotexpandedsufficiently,duetoalimitedpipelineofgreenprojectsandcontinuedbusiness-as-usuallending

practicestohigh-emittingassets.13

Themarkethassignificantroomtogrowbecauseamajorityofbankshavealargepoolofeligible

assetsthattheyhavenotallocatedtogreenbonds.ING,LloydsandBancoSabadellarenotable

examples,withover75%oftheireligiblegreenassetpoolsunallocated.Thissuggeststhat,asbanksrefinancetheirdebtsecuritiesovertime,thereisconsiderablepotentialtoincreasethegreen-

labelledshareofdebtfundingsothatissuancemorecloselymatchestheavailableeligiblegreen

assetpool.Ontheotherhand,aroundaquarterofbanksreportalmostfullyallocatedgreenasset

portfolios.Insomecases,thismayreflectanarrowerapproachtoidentifyingandearmarkingeligibleassetsonlytomatchoutstandinggreenbonds,ratherthanafulldisclosureofthebank’swidergreen

10Europe’slargestbanksbyassetsexcludingRussia.Source:S&PGlobal.Europe's50largestbanksbyassets,2026.24April2026.

11Theremainingthree:NationwideBuildingSocietydoesnothaveagreenbondprogramme;MontedeiPashidiSienaissuedgreenbondsinNovember2025andallocationisnotyetavailable;Ziraatissuedsustainabilitybondswhereproceedswereallocatedto

bothgreenandsocialassets—thisstudyfocusesongreenbondsandexcludessustainability-labelledbonds.

12Basedonthelatestreportavailable.Asof2024or2025.

13Aguila,N.etal.Thegreenbankinggap:howbankability,businessmodels,andregulationschallengebanks'decarbonisation.7May2025.

Europeanbanks'greenbondgap8

InstituteforEnergyEconomicsandFinancialAnalysis

assetbase.Thesebanksmaystillhavescopetoexpandtheirgreenbondprogrammesbyidentifyingandreportingadditionaleligibleprojectsandassetsacrosstheirbalancesheets

Banks'greenbondstrategieshaveimproveddisclosure.Establishingagreenbondprogramme

requiresbankstoidentify,classifyanddisclosetheirgreenassetportfoliosingreaterdetailthanis

typicallyprovidedingeneralsustainablefinancereporting.Thisincludesinformationonallocated

proceedsbyeligibleassetcategories,descriptionsofselectedprojectsandenvironmentalimpact

metrics.Forsomebanks,suchasING,theeligiblegreenbondassetpooliscloselyalignedwith

taxonomyreporting,improvingthegranularityoftheirbroaderclimatefinancestrategy.Bestpracticeistoshowhowgreenassetsbycategorycontributetofirm-widetransitionplanning.

Greenfundingcanthereforeserveasanindicatorofbroaderleadershipinsustainablefinance.Themostadvancedbanksarethosewheregreenfundingcloselytracksthegreenassetportfoliothatisitselfmaterialinthebalancesheet.Thisalignmentshowsthatgreenbondissuancegoesbeyondimprovingtransparencyoruseasasiloedfundingtool,reflectingmeaningfulprogresstowards

greaterexposuretoassetswithlowerenvironmentalrisk.

Whileoverallthesectorhasclearlynotunleashedthepotentialofgreenbonds—despitebanks'

widersustainablefinancingcommitments—progressvariessignificantlyacrossthe47banks

assessed.Amongthelargerbanks,frontrunnersareCréditAgricoleandGroupeBPCE.Selected

mid-sizedbankssuchasLBBWandDNBhaveamongthehighestsharesofgreenfundingrelativetototalassets(Figure3).Bycontrast,largebanksBarclaysandHSBCappearlessprominentintermsofgreenfundingintensityandintegration.

Figure3:Europe'sbiggestbanksarenotitsbiggestgreenbondissuers

GreenbondsoutstandingEbn

15

10

0

Highshareofgreenfunding

DNB

5001000

●GroupeBPCE

CréditMutuel

●UBS

1500

Totalassets€bn

●Santander

Barclays

2000

OCreditAgricole

Lowshareof

greenfunding

OHSBC

3000

2500

Source:Companyreports,IEEFA.

Europeanbanks’greenbondgap9

Nevertheless,highlevelsofgreen-labelledfundingandahighshareofgreenlendingintheportfolioarenot,ontheirown,sufficientevidenceofleadership.Thecompositionofthegreenlending

portfoliomatterssubstantially.Evenwhereactivitiesaretaxonomy-aligned,notallgreenassetscontributeequallytoEurope’sresilienceandgreentransitionagenda.

Banks’greenbondprogrammesdonotcoherentlysupportEurope’sobjectives

Theassetmixofagreenlendingportfolioisasimportantasitsscale.IEEFAfindsthattheEuropeanbanksdonotconsistentlyaligntheirgreenbondproceedswithEurope’stransitionandresilience

priorities.Banksallocateonlyaminorityofproceedstoenvironmentallysustainableactivities—renewableenergy,electricitygrids,storageandenergyefficiency—thatmostdirectlyenabledecarbonisation,energysecurityandindustrialresilience.

Banksallocateonlyaminorityofproceedstoenvironmentallysustainableactivities—renewableenergy,electricitygrids,storageandenergy

efficiency—thatmostdirectlyenabledecarbonisation,energysecurityandindustrialresilience.

Meanwhile,bonds’impactsareakeymonitoringpointforgreenbondinvestors.Thisisparticularlycriticalwhenbonds’environmentalreturnsandcoherencewiththeissuer’soverallstrategyvary

substantiallyatboththeissuerandissuelevel.14

Assetallocationisskewedawayfromdirectcleanenergyinvestments

Acrossthereviewedbanks,greenbuildingsaccountfortwo-thirdsofallocatedgreenbondproceedsonaverage,whilerenewableenergyandenergyefficiencyreceiveonlyaroundaquarter(Figure4).ThecompositionofallocationsdoesnotsquarelyaddressEUcleantransitionandresilienceneeds.

ThispatternpartlyreflectshowadvancedEuropehasbecomeingreen-labellingretailand

commercialpropertyfinance.Agreenmortgageistypicallyahomeloansecuredonapropertythatmeetsadefinedenergyperformancethreshold,suchasahighenergyperformancecertificatebandoranearly-zero-energynewbuild.Thispromotesenergy-efficientbuildings,allowingthebankto

classifytheloanasagreenassetand,inturn,refinanceitthroughgreenbonds.AsEuropeanbankswithastrongretailfocusholdlargeresidentialmortgagebooks,energy-efficientmortgagesareoftenthedeepestpoolofreadilyeligiblegreenassets.Inpractice,bankscanearmarkeligiblemortgage

14IEEFA.EUGreenBondStandard:Astrongfirstyear,butmoretobedone.9February2026.

Europeanbanks'greenbondgap10

InstituteforEnergyEconomicsandFinancialAnalysis

balancestogreenbondproceeds,evenwherethefinancingdoesnotdirectlyfundnewbuildingupgrades,renovations,retrofitsoradditionalenergyefficiencyimprovementsthatactivelyenableemissionsreductions.

Figure4:Bankgreenbonds'allocatedproceedsbycategory

Greenbuildingsabsorb70%ofgreenbondproceeds

■Greenbuildings■Renewableenergy■Cleantransportation■Energyefficiency■Others

Source:Companyreports,IEEFA.

Amodestshareofrenewableenergyandenergyefficiencyallocationsmayreflectalimitedpipelineofcleanenergyfinance,particularlyfordiversifieduniversalbanks.Theallocationswithinthe

segmentarealsorelativelynarrow:Theproceedsfocusmainlyonwindandsolargenerationand

lackthefullbreadthofthecleanenergysystemandindustrialdecarbonisation.Someframeworks

arebeginningtobroaden.SociétéGenérale,forexample,hasaddedtransmissionanddistributionofelectricityandelectricitystoragetoitsframework,butactualallocationremainslimited.

Gridinfrastructurefinancingisanopportunityandcouldbecomemorematerialforbanks'balancesheets.WithgridbottlenecksnowthebindingconstraintforrenewablesdeploymentacrossEurope,corporateandprojectlendingtopure-playelectricitygridoperatorsoffersbanksanopportunitytoaddgreenassetsandgrowtheirgreenfundingpipelines.Europeanbanksalreadyhavestrong

relationshipswithmajortransmissionoperatorsandareprovidingincreasinglysizeablecreditlinesforliquiditysupport.15Althoughtransmissionoperatorshavedevelopedtheirowncapitalmarket

access,thegrowingscaleofcapexneedscouldincreasetheroleofcommercialbanks,withsupportfrompolicybanks.

15NotablerecentexpansionsandrenewalofrevolvingcreditlinesincludeAmprion'sE6.5billioninJune2026,50Hertz's∈5.25billioninFebruary2026andTenneTGermany'sE12billioninOctober2025.

Europeanbanks’greenbondgap11

Amorecrediblegreenbondprogrammeshouldthereforeactivelyalignfundingwithagrowing,well-representedsetoftransition-criticalassets,whichcarrylowerclimateriskexposure.Themappingtotheassetportfolioshoulddemonstratemoreintegratedtransitionplanningandaprovenmechanismfordirectingcapitalflowstowardssustainableactivities,inturnsupportingEurope’sobjectives.

Bonds’environmentalreturnsvarysubstantiallyacrossbankissuers

Forgreenbondinvestors,environmentalreturnsofbonds—illustratedbyimpactmetricspereuroofproceeds—dependonwhatisfinanced.Amongtheassetsthatcontributetoenvironmental

objectives,directlendingtoclimate-enablingsolutionstendstohavehigherenvironmentaladditionalitypereuroinvested.

AcrosstheEuropeangreenbondbankissuers,around70%havedisclosedacompletesetofimpactmetrics—reflectedinavoidedemissions—byassetcategory.Thedifferenceinenvironmental

impactbyassetcategoryissubstantial.Thebonds’renewableenergyallocationsgenerate

significantlyhigheravoidedemissionspereuroinvestedthangreenbuildings(Figure5).Whilegreenbuildingscanreduceenergydemandandassociatedemissions,theirenvironmentalimpactis

generallylowerwhenbondproceedsareallocatedtoexistingbuildingsthatalreadymeetenergy

performancestandards,ratherthantorenovation,retrofitorotherimprovementprojectsthatdeliveradditionalemissionsreductions.

Asaresult,althoughrenewableenergyaccountsforonlyaround20%ofproceedsallocatedby

Europeanbanks’greenbonds,itaccountsfor90%ofthereportedavoidedemissionsdeliveredbythosegreenbonds.Incontrast,greenbuildingsreceivearound70%ofallocatedproceedsbut

contributeonly3%ofthereportedavoidedemissions(Figure6).

Europeanbanks'greenbondgap12

InstituteforEnergyEconomicsandFinancialAnalysis

Figure5:Renewableenergydelivershigherenvironmentalreturnsthangreenbuildingsinbanks'greenbondallocations

Avoidedemissions(tonnesofcarbondioxidepermillioneuros)

Renewableenergy

Cleantransportation

Energyefficiency

Greenbuildings

Source:Companyreports,IEEFA.

Figure6:Withinbanks'greenbondportfolios,renewableenergydrivesmostavoidedemissionsdespiteaccountingforaminorityofproceeds

■Renewableenergy■Greenbuildings■Cleantransportation■Energyefficiency■Others%

100

80

60

40

20

0

Allocation

Avoidedemissionsperyear

Source:Companyreports,IEEFA.

Europeanbanks'greenbondgap13

InstituteforEnergyEconomicsandFinancialAnalysis

Becausethe44banksallocatetheirproceedsdifferentlybycategory,theenvironmentalreturnsofgreenbondsvarywidelyfromoneissuertothenext(Figure7)—adifferencethatimpact-focusedinvestorsincreasinglyconsider.Thisvariationispartlyduetothedifferingfocusofretail,corporateandinvestmentbankingoperationsamongthebanksunderreview.IEEFAfindsthatsomelarger,diversifieduniversalbankssuchasHSBC,BarclaysandUBShavelimitedallocationstorenewableenergy.Intermsofgreenbond-fundedrenewableenergyandenergyefficiency,thetop15banksaccountfor75%ofthetotal,buttheyarenotnecessarilythosewiththelargestbalancesheets.TheleadingcontributorsincludemajorinstitutionssuchasCréditAgricoleandBNPParibas,aswellasregionalanddomesticbankssuchasCaixaBank,SEBandAIBGroup(Figure8).Thispatternalsoapplieswhensortingthebanksbygreenbonds'impacts(Figure9).

Figure7:Europeanbankgreenbondshavevaryingenvironmentalreturns

nvironmentalreturn(tonnesofco°permiioneuros)

100

Shareofproceedstorenewableenergyandenergyefficiency(%)

Source:Companyreports,IEEFA.

Note:Includesonlybanksthatreportacompletesetofavoidedemissionsbyassetcategory.

Europeanbanks'greenbondgap14

InstituteforEnergyEconomicsandFinancialAnalysis

Figure8:AmongEurope's47largestbanks,just