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The World Bank has launched a sustainable development bond addressing plastics in oceans
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The World Bank has launched a sustainable development bond addressing plastics in oceans

April 15, 2019
In order to raise awareness on plastic waste pollution in the oceans, the World Bank has launched a new type of sustainable development bond. The World Bank said that 8 million tons of plastics are dumped into the ocean every year seriously harming the environment. With the sustainable development bond, $10,000,000 was raised by its sole distributor, Morgan Stanley.

In order to raise awareness on plastic waste pollution in the oceans, the World Bank has launched a new type of sustainable development bond (SPD). In a press release, the World Bank said that 8 million tons of plastics are dumped into the ocean every year seriously harming the environment. With the sustainable development bond, $10,000,000 was raised by its sole distributor, Morgan Stanley.

Ocean pollution also has a negative financial impact: marine ecosystems experience billions of dollars of damages, impacting a wide variety of sectors, such as fishing or tourism. With these new type of bonds, the World Bank aims to highlight the critical role of fresh and saltwater resources and the importance of supporting sustainable use of ocean and marine resources, including better waste management.

The thematic bond initiative was launched in August 2018. Since then, a range of institutional and retail investors have joined to support the initiative globally. By building strategic partnerships with investors the World Bank aims to raise awareness for the role of private sector financing sustainable development. The World Bank will continue to issue bonds under the initiative.

Source: SDG.IISD.org