Green bonds coupled with the investments being made in the environmental sector, along with the Resilience and Recovery Fund, will lead Malta to an ecological transition deserving of the future, Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia said on Friday.

In meetings in Luxembourg, where Farrugia met with Luxembourg Environment Minister Carole Dieschbourg and the country’s Finance Ministry, the discussed the structures necessary for the country to make use of green bonds for projects which promote quality of life, environmental health and sustainable projects were discussed.

It was announced in the budget for 2021 on Monday that the Malta Stock Exchange will be offering an attractive package to investors for green bonds to finance green economy projects.

Farrugia explained that these projects, which are infrastructural in nature, need to be beneficial to all; protecting the environment, mitigating the effects of climate change including emissions, and creating new green jobs.

Green bonds are a way to finance sustainable and environmental projects such as renewable energy projects, clean transport, energy-efficient buildings and waste management initiatives. Green bonds abide to the rules laid out by the Climate Bonds Initiative.

The Ministers discussed how Luxembourg became the first European country to launch its Sustainability Bond Framework just a few weeks ago. This innovative framework, which meets the highest market standards, is also the first in the world to fully comply with the new recommendations of the European taxonomy for green financing.

The eligibility criteria and recommendations of the final reports of the Technical Expert Group (TEG) on the Taxonomy of the European Union was also discussed, as well as the framework which has been designed to comply with the draft European Green Bonds Standard (EU GBS).