Climate Changed
Climate Bonds Pioneered by Goldman Lure Storm-Plagued Cities
- Rockefeller Foundation seeks to expand environmental bonds
- Financing meant to cut cities’ risks for untested projects
The Coming Storm of Climate Change
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As climate change pushes U.S. cities to build protections against stronger storms and more frequent floods, the Rockefeller Foundation is helping cities with a novel kind of financing, one that transfers some of the risk of innovative projects from cities to investors.
The foundation, established with John D. Rockefeller’s oil wealth, announced Wednesday it will pay $342,000 to underwrite the costs for two municipalities in issuing environmental impact bonds, pioneered by The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Washington, D.C. More than a dozen cities have expressed interest in the bonds, which link an investor bonus or penalty to how well the underlying project works.