In Search of Greenium. Analysis of Yields in the European Green Bond Markets

The green bond market shows good potential to help mobilize financial sources towards sustainable investments. Green bonds are similar to conventional bonds but are specifically created to raise money to finance climate or other environmental projects. The relevance of the paper is underpinned by mixed evidence on the existence of ‘greenium in various corporate bond markets and lack of a clear understanding of the green bond yields’ determinants. The objective of the paper is to explore the existence and determinants of greenium in Europe. Our sample included 3,851 green and conventional bonds in the European debt markets over the period from 2007 to 2021. The results showed that the climate corporate bonds in Europe are priced at discount to the same-risk conventional corporate bonds. The magnitude of greenium in whole European green bond market was around 4 bps. However, we did not find the significant greenium in the green bond markets of the UK, France, Netherlands, and Germany. The conclusions of the research could lead to a better understanding of the green bond market for investors, regulators, and potential issuing companies.