Energy-efficient and renewable-energy projects, as well as new technologies in waste management and agriculture that minimize greenhouse gas emissions, are among the initiatives that will be supported
An investment in two World Bank-issued bonds to assist the financing of climate-related projects has been made by a consortium of Japanese life insurance firms.
For the first time, four major Japanese life insurance firms – Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Company, and Nippon Life Insurance Company – have joined forces to invest in bonds and support climate action, according to the businesses involved.
They are 15-year green bonds with maturities of September 2036 and are worth AUD247 million (£132 million) and NZD241 million (£123 million), respectively.
Renewable energy, energy efficiency, and innovative technology in waste management and agriculture, among other things, will be encouraged in order to minimize greenhouse gas emissions and aid in the transition to a low-carbon economy.
“The World Bank is the greatest single source of climate funding to poor nations,” stated Jingdong Hua, Vice President and Treasurer of the World Bank. As member nations of the World Bank seek to decrease emissions and develop greener and more resilient communities and economies, private investors play an important role in channeling essential resources to those countries.
“We are thankful to the Japanese life insurance firms for banding together to demonstrate their support for climate financing in poor countries, and we express our gratitude to them for their investment.”
They will also assist in funding forest and watershed management initiatives as well as public infrastructure projects that will help to minimize climate-related flood damage and increase resilience.
“The Dai-ichi Life, as a ‘universal owner’ that manages funds broadly, aims to deliver both financial returns on our investments and to contribute to improving social issues through ESG investment, which is a pillar of our asset management strategy,” said Kazuyuki Shigemoto, Executive Officer, Chief General Manager, Investment, The Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company.
The World Bank bond, which we purchased as part of these efforts to assist the funding of initiatives that help the low-carbon transition in poor countries, is described as follows: ” The Responsible Institutional Investor will continue to actively participate in ESG investment in order to contribute to the realization of a sustainable society while also improving investment returns through sophisticated and diversified investment strategies.”