Green Bond Market Statistics 2026: Issuance, Issuers and Trends

Green bonds raised $364.1 billion in the first half of 2026, 69% of the aligned H1 volume. The figures come from the Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI). The green label marked a record quarterly volume in Q2 2026 of $210.8 billion, bringing its cumulative volume to $4.5 trillion.

The full-year picture is steadier than the quarterly record suggests. Aligned green volume of $653.5 billion in 2025 was the second-highest annual output, only slightly behind 2024’s record $670.9 billion. The sections below track issuance by label, issuer, currency, country, and sovereign program, plus the maturities that now offset a large share of new supply.

Key Takeaways

• Excluding Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae, and US municipal deals, aligned green volume was $640.9 billion in 2025 against $638.4 billion in 2024, a 0% change.
• Aligned green volume rose 9% to $364.1 billion in H1 2026 from $332.6 billion in H1 2025, while on an absolute basis the green label saw a 7% growth.
• Maturities of $257.1 billion in H1 2026 left a net aligned market growth of $272.6 billion and an outstanding volume of $5.4 trillion.
• Financial corporates supplied 29% ($104.4 billion) of H1 2026 green volume, with non-financial corporates contributing a further 25% ($90.1 billion).
• The euro took 60% of aligned green issuance in 2026, and euro green volume recorded its most prolific half at $222.1 billion.
• Green accounted for 83% ($66.4 billion) of sovereign aligned volume in H1 2026.
• According to the European Commission, European green bonds made up around 7% of all issuances of green bonds in Europe in 2025.

Editor’s Choice

• Cumulative aligned GSS+ debt, end of June 2026: $7.3 trillion.
• Aligned green volume, 2025: $653.5 billion, or 64% of aligned GSS+ volume.
• Cumulative aligned green volume since 2006, H1 2026: $4,521.2 billion.
• France’s sovereign green bond, H1 2026: $11.8 billion, its largest-ever sovereign issuance.
• UK Debt Management Office green gilt issuance since 2021: £55.8 billion.
• European green bond standard issuance to March 2026: about €30 billion across more than 30 issuances.
• S&P Global Ratings 2026 sustainable bond forecast: $800 billion to $900 billion.

Global Green Bond Market Size

Compiled from 13 sources: 4 Climate Bonds Initiative reports and releases and 1 rating agency release.

• The other 8 are government, debt office, development bank, and exchange documents.
• Source publication dates run from December 2025 to October 2026.
• Volumes are Climate Bonds “aligned” figures, so they run raw labeled totals below. Figures are reviewed on a rolling basis and updated when sources publish new editions.
• Green reached $653.5 billion in 2025, 64% of the $1,026.0 billion aligned GSS+ total.
• 2025 was the third year that annual aligned volume surpassed the trillion-dollar level, with over 400 new GSS+ issuers making their debut.
• Cumulative green volume since 2006 reached $4,156.4 billion, or 61% of the aligned total.
• The sustainability label marked a record annual volume of $217.3 billion for the second consecutive year.
• Of the $8.1 trillion of cumulative GSS and SLB volume recorded by the end of 2025, $6.8 trillion (83%) was found to be Climate Bonds aligned.
• By the end of June 2026, the green label’s cumulative volume reached $4.5 trillion, within a cumulative aligned GSS+ total of $7.3 trillion.
• It took the sustainable debt market 13 years, from 2006 to 2019, to reach its first trillion dollars.

Source: Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI), Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2025

How big is the green bond market?

According to CBI, the green label’s cumulative volume reached $4.5 trillion by the end of June 2026. That sits inside $7.3 trillion in cumulative aligned GSS+ debt. Annual green issuance was $653.5 billion in 2025, which keeps green the largest label by a wide margin.

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Green Bond Issuance in the First Half of 2026

• Aligned GSS+ debt reached $529.7 billion in H1 2026, a 1% decline from $535.5 billion in H1 2025 on a like-for-like comparison.
• Q2 2026 brought $288.5 billion, the third strongest quarter ever recorded.
• Green comprised almost three-quarters (73%) of aligned volume in Q2 2026.
• H1 2026 is the second most prolific half for green, behind H1 2024 at $390.3 billion.
• Sustainability volume fell 33% to $81.0 billion, while social volume rose 11% to $79.9 billion.
• Sustainability-linked bond volume fell 51% to $4.7 billion.
• Over 200 of the 941 issuers active in H1 2026 made their debut GSS+ issuance.

Green was one of two labels to grow in the table above, alongside social. On the same exclusions applied to 2025, total aligned GSS+ volume was $973.1 billion against $984.4 billion in 2024, a 1% decline. Headline comparisons that mix US agency deals in one year and leave them out in the next overstate the 2025 slowdown.

Key finding: CBI’s like-for-like scorecard shows aligned green volume of $640.9 billion in 2025 against $638.4 billion in 2024. The reported dip in green issuance traces to data coverage of US mortgage agencies and municipalities.

Recent Developments

• September 30, 2026: Auckland Council published an updated Sustainable Finance Framework and its Green Bond Annual Report 2025/2026.
• September 24, 2026: Germany’s Finanzagentur said the Federal government’s issuance plan for the fourth quarter of 2026 remains unchanged, with a green issue scheduled for October 20, 2026.
• September 9, 2026: CBI reported cumulative aligned GSS+ volume of $7.3 trillion and a record green quarter of $210.8 billion in Q2.
• September 9, 2026: CBI’s H1 2026 report noted that China’s second sovereign green bond, priced in Hong Kong in May, attracted orders worth 10.4 times the amount offered.
• September 8, 2026: Germany reopened two Green Federal securities with an increase of €750.00 million each, and the cover ratio was 2.5 on the 2033 Green Bund and 1.3 on the 2041 Green Bund.

Green Bond Issuance by Issuer Type

• Financial corporates supplied 29% ($104.4 billion) of aligned green volume in H1 2026.
• Non-financial corporates contributed a further 25% ($90.1 billion).
• Across all labels, financial corporates set a record quarterly volume of $76.3 billion in Q2 2026, surpassing $68.2 billion in Q2 2023.
• Development banks priced $101.7 billion in H1 2026, behind their record $128.2 billion in H1 2025.
• In full-year 2025, non-financial corporates led all GSS+ issuers with $237.9 billion, ahead of financial corporates at $234.5 billion.

Financial and non-financial corporates together supplied 54% of H1 2026 aligned green volume. That share ties green supply to ordinary funding decisions at banks and companies. Conventional corporate debt is tracked in our US corporate bond statistics.

Largest Green Bond Issuers

• The European Investment Bank (EIB) led 2025 non-sovereign aligned green issuance with $25.6 billion, ahead of KfW at $15.0 billion.
• The top 10 non-sovereign green issuers priced a total of $102.0 billion in 2025.
• KfW led non-sovereign green issuance in H1 2026 with $13.3 billion, followed by the European Investment Bank at $10.6 billion.
• The Agricultural Development Bank of China priced $9.3 billion and MTR Corporation $7.3 billion.
• The H1 2026 top 10 totaled $68.3 billion.

Source: CBI, 2025

Development banks kept the top spots in 2026, while two German companies joined the list. Eurogrid GmbH priced $6.2 billion and Amprion GmbH $4.2 billion, both German non-financial corporates. They are the only non-financial corporates in the H1 2026 top 10. Wider project spending is tracked in our infrastructure investment statistics.

Green Bonds by Currency

• The euro accounted for 60% of aligned green issuance in 2026, against 11% for the yuan and 10% for the US dollar.
• Euro green debt recorded its most prolific half in H1 2026 at $222.1 billion.
• Cumulative euro green volume passed $2 trillion in Q2 2026, landing at $2.1 trillion at the end of June.
• Across labels, euro GSS+ volume recorded its strongest half at $280.5 billion, 6% above the 2021 record of $263.6 billion.
• The three most used currencies made up 80% of aligned volume in H1 2026.
• Cumulatively, the euro ($2.6 trillion) and the US dollar ($2.0 trillion) account for the majority of debt issued, with the yuan third at $563.7 billion.

By the numbers: Euro-denominated green debt reached $222.1 billion in H1 2026, its most prolific half, and passed $2 trillion in cumulative aligned green volume in Q2, according to CBI. With the euro carrying three in five green dollars, European rate moves now set the tone for the whole label.

Green Bond Issuance by Country and Region

• Germany led H1 2026 with $55.8 billion in aligned green volume, including $15.2 billion from non-financial corporates, $15 billion from development banks and $13.4 billion from its sovereign.
• China is the largest source of aligned non-sovereign green volume in H1 2026 and ranked second among national sources of aligned green bonds.
• Europe priced 45% of aligned annual GSS+ volume in 2025.
• At end-2025, the USA was the largest country source of cumulative aligned volume at $887.4 billion, followed by China at $683.2 billion.

Regional totals cover every label. North America is inching toward the trillion-dollar mark in cumulative aligned volume at $998.7 billion, with $111.8 billion in 2025. Europe’s 2025 total was about 4.2 times North America’s.

Source: CBI, 2025

Sovereign Green Bond Statistics

• Sovereign issuance contributed 15% ($79.9 billion) of aligned volume in H1 2026, an 8% increase on the $73.9 billion recorded in H1 2025.
• France led with $16.8 billion, followed by Germany at $13.4 billion and Austria at $12.1 billion.
• France brought its largest-ever sovereign issuance to market as a green bond worth $11.8 billion.
• More than 75% of the aligned volume from sovereign issuers in H1 2026 was denominated in EUR.
• Sovereign aligned green volume was $106.7 billion in 2025, down from $134.9 billion in 2024.
• Germany ($17.3 billion), Austria ($17.1 billion) and the United Kingdom ($14.7 billion) topped the 2025 sovereign leaderboard.

Worth noting: European sovereigns dominated the first half of the year, with ten countries accounting for 72% of total aligned sovereign volume. The $11.8 billion deal made France the fourth issuer to price a single aligned GSS+ tranche of that size, following the EU and the Italian and British sovereigns, according to CBI. Sovereign benchmarks of that size give long-dated buyers, including the funds in our global pension fund statistics, a liquid green curve.

Government Green Bond Programs in Europe

• The UK Debt Management Office priced £6.25 billion (nominal) of the new Green Gilt 2037 at a gross redemption yield of 4.7167% on March 10, 2026.
• The UK domestic market took around 66% of the allocation.
• Total issue volume reached €14,250.00 million on the 2033 Green Bund and €5,500.00 million on the 2041 Green Bund after the September 8, 2026 reopening.
• At the European Commission, the Commission will fund up to 30% of NextGenerationEU by issuing NextGenerationEU Green Bonds, and the first raised €12 billion.

Source: UK Debt Management Office 2026, Finanzagentur 2025 and 2026, European Commission 2026

The EU built its own label to set a higher bar, yet uptake remains small. Issuers have been able to use the European green bond standard since December 2024, and after 21 June 2026, firms seeking to provide external reviews of European green bonds will need to register with ESMA.

Why it matters: European green bonds have reached more than 30 issuances with a total volume of about €30 billion, around 7% of all green bond issuance in Europe in 2025, according to the European Commission. Most issuers still prefer market-standard green labels over the stricter EU taxonomy-linked version.

Green bonds finance the projects, while emissions markets price the carbon those projects avoid, a split visible in carbon credit trading data.

China Green Bond Market Statistics

• China is the third-largest country source of cumulative aligned GSS+ volume as of H1 2026.
• Aligned GSS+ volume from China reached $46.1 billion across 212 deals in H1 2026, and green bonds accounted for 96%.
• China’s aligned green volume was $44.4 billion, with energy and transport accounting for 69% of use of proceeds.
• Renewable energy took 40% of proceeds and transport 30%.
• The alignment rate of Chinese GSS+ volume stood at 61%, compared with 59% in 2024 and 60% in 2025.
• ADBC ($9.3 billion), China Development Bank ($4.1 billion) and CATL ($3 billion) were the top three aligned issuers in H1 2026.

China describes the issuance as a foundation for green sovereign bonds in overseas markets. In February 2025, China’s Ministry of Finance released China’s Sovereign Green Bond Framework, and the second issuance was priced with a lower coupon and attracted stronger demand than the first.

Source: CBI, H1 2026

Green Bond Deal and Issuer Counts

• Aligned green deals fell 20% to 2,612 in 2025 from 3,277 in 2024.
• Excluding Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Ginnie Mae and US municipal deals, green deals rose 1% to 2,010 from 1,995.
• In H1 2026, aligned green deals rose 1% to 1,019 while issuers fell 5% to 480.
• The number of countries that have issued aligned GSS+ debt increased to 109, with the inclusion of Oman in 2025 via a Green Sukuk issued by the Oman Electricity Transmission Company.

Source: CBI, 2025

The takeaway: Dividing $653.5 billion by 2,612 deals gives an average green deal of about $250.2 million in 2025, up from about $204.7 million in 2024. Fewer, larger deals point to a market now led by repeat benchmark issuers.

Sustainable Debt Maturities and Net Market Growth

• Maturities in the period amounted to $257.1 billion in H1 2026.
• Outstanding aligned volume stood at $5.4 trillion at the end of June 2026.
• Maturities equaled about 48.5% of H1 2026 aligned issuance.
• Cumulative aligned volume of $7.3 trillion comprises 83% of the $8.8 trillion total GSS+ volume recorded by Climate Bonds.

CBI’s maturities figure covers every aligned GSS+ label, not green bonds alone, and it shows gross issuance, overstating how fast the aligned pool grows. A flat issuance year can still mean a shrinking net supply once maturities climb further.

Green Bond Market Outlook for 2026

• S&P Global Ratings expects global sustainable bond issuance to level off at $800 billion to $900 billion in 2026.
• S&P expects Europe to remain the largest market while issuance in the US slows.
• S&P said labeled US municipal issuance has slowed as some issuers prefer conventional bonds to avoid additional reporting requirements.
• CBI said the market has grown by around a trillion dollars per year since 2021.

“The era of rapid expansion is giving way to a period of measured growth. Issuers contend with rising debt maturities, shifting policy priorities, and a more competitive capital market,” said Patrice Cochelin, Managing Director, Sustainability Methodology and Research, at S&P Global Ratings.

S&P uses its own definition of sustainable bonds, not CBI’s aligned screen, so the two sets of numbers do not compare directly. On CBI’s like-for-like scorecards, green and social volumes grew while sustainability and sustainability-linked volumes fell. Fund-side demand for these bonds is tracked in our ESG investing statistics.

Green Bond Market History and Milestones

• The World Bank says it launched the world’s first green bond in 2008, in partnership with SEB.
• World Bank green bonds have since raised $20 billion through 230+ bonds in 28 currencies.
• Cumulative aligned issuance surpassed $7 trillion by May 26, 2026, per CBI.
• The first NextGenerationEU green bond, a 15-year bond issued in October 2021, raised €12 billion, making it the world’s largest green bond transaction to date, according to the European Commission.
• The UK DMO said the bond, which matures in 2037, marks the launch of the UK’s third green gilt, representing the first new green gilt since October 2021.

Conclusion

Green bonds raised $364.1 billion in H1 2026 and reached a cumulative $4.5 trillion, and the like-for-like data shows a market holding its level. European issuers set several of the H1 2026 records, from France and Germany’s quarterly highs to the euro’s strongest half, while sustainability and sustainability-linked volumes fell. Bond buyers across the asset management industry get deeper euro liquidity from that mix.

The next tests are close. Germany’s October green auction and the next round of maturities will show whether a flat gross market still adds net supply.