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Environmental score and bond pricing: it better be good, it better be green

Author

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  • Fornari, Fabio
  • Pianeselli, Daniele
  • Zaghini, Andrea

Abstract

We provide empirical evidence that the pricing of green bonds tends to be highly sophisticated and based on a two-tiered approach. When buying a green bond, investors do not look only at the presence of a green label, but also consider additional characteristics of the bond that involve the environmental score of the issuer and the soundness of the underlying project. By comparing the yields at issuance of green bonds to those of a matched control sample of conventional bonds, our baseline specification identifies a premium of 16 basis points for the green label alone. Furthermore, when the environmental score of the issuer is in the top tercile of the cross-sectional distribution of such an indicator across the analyzed issuers, the greenium nearly doubles. Green certification and periods of heightened climate uncertainty also significantly affect the size of the greenium. JEL Classification: G12, G15, C21, C58, Q56

Suggested Citation

  • Fornari, Fabio & Pianeselli, Daniele & Zaghini, Andrea, 2026. "Environmental score and bond pricing: it better be good, it better be green," Working Paper Series 3176, European Central Bank.
    • Handle: RePEc:ecb:ecbwps:20263176
    Note: 495651
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    JEL classification:

    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G15 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - International Financial Markets
    • C21 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Single Equation Models; Single Variables - - - Cross-Sectional Models; Spatial Models; Treatment Effect Models
    • C58 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Econometric Modeling - - - Financial Econometrics
    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth

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