Brazil held talks with Mexico, Chile, Germany over green bond project

The Brazilian government has engaged in talks with Mexico, Germany, Colombia and Chile as it looks to set up a framework to issue ESG bonds amid a push for sustainability-linked measures, the country’s Finance Ministry told Reuters.

The information comes as government officials earlier this year said the South American country planned to issue its first-ever green bond in 2023, with its new leftist government looking to use its environmental agenda to attract investment.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva campaigned last year on pledges to fight deforestation, seeking to reverse the policies of former far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, who oversaw a spike in Amazon rainforest destruction.

Brazil’s Treasury Secretary said in a statement to Reuters in response to questions about the program that it had held talks with countries that have already developed a framework for such issuances. It did not detail when the previously unreported talks with the four nations “among others” took place.

Brazil’s ultimate goal, it said, “is to build a robust framework that will serve as a reference for an active and constant presence” in markets focused on themes like climate change, though no date has been decided yet for its official launch.

Among the nations consulted by Brazil, Chile in 2019 was the first Latin American country to issue a sovereign green bond, followed by Mexico the next year and Colombia in 2021. Germany meanwhile raised 6.5 billion euros ($6.96 billion) from its first-ever green bond in 2020 with overwhelming demand.

Read more: Reuters