Blue bonds
Topic: Financial Markets, Instruments, Insurance and Pensions · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Blue bonds are bonds whose money can only be spent on the oceans. The funds go to ocean and marine conservation and the sustainable blue economy, meaning economic activity based on the sea, such as fisheries, ports and coastal tourism, run without harming the sea. Like other labelled bonds, they allow a country or company to raise money from investors who care about the environment.
Example
Seychelles, a small island nation, issued the world's first blue bond in 2018. In India, SEBI's green debt securities framework (2017) was revised in 2023 to cover blue bonds too.
Don't confuse with
- Green bonds: these fund climate- and environment-friendly projects in general, such as solar power. Blue bonds are a narrower type focused only on oceans and marine life.
Related concepts
- Corporate bond
- Debenture
- Convertible bond
- Foreign Currency Convertible Bond
- Masala bonds
- Foreign bonds
- Perpetual bond
- AT1 bonds
- Green bonds
- Sovereign green bonds