RIYADH — HSBC CEO Noel Quinn has said that 2021 is set to be the first trillion-dollar year for green bonds, with a “major industrial transformation” in the next decade pushing firms to become carbon neutral or carbon light.

Speaking at the Middle East Green Initiative Summit in Riyadh, Quinn said: "From my humble perspective I believe we’re about to see the next major industrial and commercial transformation in the next 10-15 years.

“Industries will need to adopt new technologies and business models that will allow them to become carbon neutral or carbon light. Entirely new industries will be emerging. That will require a significant amount of investment but will also create a huge economic opportunity for each of your economies.

"The sustainable finance market is already growing rapidly. In the first 9 months of 2021, green social and sustainable bonds raised more than $777 billion. That’s more than 60% higher than the same period last year.

“We’re actually on track this year for it to be the first trillion dollar year for green bonds. We’ve seen that reflected in our own business — this year alone, we have already helped customers issue $170 billion of green bonds.”

“With a broader range of structures and greater variety of issuers than ever before, the next phase of development will require more than just capital market activity. It will require a fundamental reengineering of the commercial banking sector to support the activities of the corporates we serve. "

Earlier, Crown Prince Muhammad Bin Salman announced a series of regional programs for climate action to an audience of dozens of heads of state at the event. On Saturday, the Crown Prince also revealed that Saudi Arabia is aiming to achieve net zero emissions by 2060 through the Carbon Circular Economy approach.

The Middle East Green Initiative called for intensifying coordination and joint action to preserve and develop the importance of the environment and vegetation cover in Africa, in addition to establishing the Green Initiative Foundation as an independent non-profit entity to support the summit and raise the level of coordination. — SG