Green debt issuance booming, but are the bonds really green?

New York

ISSUANCE of green bonds for companies working on battling climate change are booming, but investors say the label needs safeguards against bogus proposals that could sour retail buyers and wealth advisers just starting to tune in to the securities.

Right now, any debt issuer can label its bonds green, a compelling but unregulated designation for investors concerned about global warming, sustainability and other environmental matters.

Definitions of green bonds vary greatly, with socially conscious mutual funds, insurers and other buyers that now dom…