Sovereigns and central banks

ECB climate policy and EUR bond dynamics

Written by Ulf Erlandsson & Josephine Richardson

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The European Central Bank (ECB) has outlined a clear shift in its climate policy framework, addressing many of the concerns we have raised in earlier research.

More specifically, the ECB has indicated that they plan a shift in how they approach climate in their CSPP portfolio to switch from only reinvestment adjustments to an active re-shuffling based on climate alignment and carbon intensity.

In this report, we illustrate the full portfolio of CSPP eligible issuers, eligible securities, and estimated holdings. In the individual bonds, the ECB owns on average 27% of the amount outstanding, and in terms of the issuers’ total bond debt stock the ECB owns approximately 9%. The latter number is very significant, the former is huge.

We also provide a list of the 51 highest carbon footprints in the CSPP portfolio. We highlight names that are not Eurozone domiciled but are eligible due to having issuing vehicles within the Eurozone. Assumptions are needed, especially with regards to a Scope 3 emissions focus, to produce the list. However, we feel confident that a majority of the re-shifting of the CSPP on a climate basis would happen within this set of 51 names.

About the authors

Ulf Erlandsson

Ulf Erlandsson

Founder, Board member

Dr Ulf Erlandsson founded the Anthropocene Fixed Income Institute and was its first CEO. A pioneer of climate-focused fixed income portfolio management, he was named Environmental Finance’s Bond Personality of the Year 2022.

Josephine Richardson

Josephine Richardson

Managing Director, Head of Research

Based in London, Jo leads AFII’s research and a global team supporting fixed income investors as they align their portfolios with climate and sustainability goals. She joined AFII after 18 years in fixed income markets at JPMorgan.

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