Brazil launches green bond program for railways

SAO PAULO, June 10 (Reuters) – Brazil’s government on Tuesday launched the first program in Latin America to fund infrastructure projects with the sale of so-called “green bonds”.

Three railways, which will have operating licenses auctioned, are expected to be certified as sustainable projects by the British organization Climate Bond Initiative (CBI), Brazil’s Infrastructure Ministry said in a statement.

The railways, Fiol, Ferrogrão and Fico, will require 14.3 billion reais ($2.91 billion) in investments by their new private operators.

Global issuance of green bonds has reached $840 billion, Infrastructure Minister Tarcísio Gomes de Freitas said in the statement. Among the criteria that should be followed by the projects are low emissions and low use of fossil fuels.

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