THE green bonds they play and will play more and more crucial role in the energy transitionwhich is also based on the issue of debt securities at favorable conditions, capable of encouraging investments in sustainable infrastructure and renewable sources. This is confirmed by focus of several Italian companies operating in the utilities sector, which according to IMPact Sgr It is historically the sector most involved in green bond issuance, in terms of the share of sustainable debt and the high level of alignment of investments with the European climate taxonomy.
Utilities Focus on Green Bonds
Luca Vallarino, Head of Trading Desk and Manager and Member of the Investment Committee of IMPact Sgr, and Dario Mangilli, Head of Sustainability of IMPact Sgr, analyzed the debt structure of some of the main Italian players in the sector, such as Enel, which is now the leading issuer of green bonds worldwide.
At the end of 2023 – they underline – the 64% of Enel’s gross financial debt was composed of sustainable emissionswith a target of reaching around 70% by 2026. In parallel, the company has the target of reaching a share of Climate taxonomy-aligned capital investments European greater than 80%.
In the same way, A2A in the strategic plan 2024-2035 has set the objective of have over 80% sustainable debt by 2026 and 100% by 2035. The company has a plan for capex of 22 billion to be invested in the next 12 years, of which 49% is aligned with the environmental taxonomy European.
Ternaon whose infrastructures the success of the transition of the Italian electricity system towards renewable sources depends, has planned to invest 21 billion between 2023 and 2032 and of these 99% aligned with mitigation target of the European environmental taxonomy.
The role of monetary policy
Within this structural trend, which sees green bonds as a natural tool for financing transition strategies, especially in the utilities sector – explain the experts at IMPact – if the monetary policy should begin to channel along a trajectory of easingthis could obviously increase the attractiveness for issuers and overall reduce the cost of financing complex long-term projects concerning the energy transition.
The sectors most inclined towards green operations
Looking at the most prone sectors to the stipulation of green operations to finance objectives linked to the energy and climate transition, there are the utilities first of all, but also the sector of transportespecially the railway sector, which is decisively riding the transition.
Just this week, A2A has successfully completed a 600 million green pool financing operation of euros, in Green Use of Proceeds format, for the acquisition of assets relating to the electricity grid in some areas of Lombardy, in the provinces of Milan and Brescia, announced in March 2024.
In the transport sector, however, Tfora railway company that provides public transport services in Emilia-Romagna, has obtained a green financing of approximately 11 million euros from Intesa Sanpaolofor the purchase of additional fully electric vehicles – 560 electric vehicles and e-scooters – used for the sharing service offered by the Company under the “Corrente” brand, active in the areas of Bologna, Ferrara, Imola and other areas of interest.
