The ‘Blue Economy’ is made up of economic activities which rely or have an impact on coastal and marine resources. According to the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the blue (or ocean) economy is expected to double in size to US$3tn by 2039, employing 40 million people worldwide compared to 2010. The financial sector will be key to this growth and, although still relatively new, it appears that blue bonds in particular will have an important role to play in achieving a sustainable blue economy.

This Practice Note considers:

1. •

   what are blue bonds?

2. •

   blue bond issuances in the market

3. •

   steps to issuing a blue bond, and

4. •

   what are the prospects for blue bonds?

The potential and growth in significance of blue bonds can be seen through the publication of Bonds to Finance the Sustainable Blue Economy (the Guidance), the result of a collaboration between the Asian Development Bank (ADB), International Capital Market Association (ICMA), IFC, United Nations Environment Programme—Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), The Guidance aims to build on