Green bonds: the best way to invest in Asian development

ASIA needs to invest heavily in infrastructure to sustain growth. But unless we design sustainable projects, we risk running up an environmental bill for future generations.

The cities and the power, sanitation and transport systems we build to support them have the potential to help or harm the communities in which we and our children live. As demonstrated by China's recent shift of focus from the quantity to the quality of economic growth, emerging Asia is beginning to embrace development that emphasises environmental protection.

One way to promote sustainable growth is to unleash market forces that promote environmentally responsible development. Global issuance of so-called "green bonds" - which are like normal bonds but come with a pledge that the funds raised will be used for environmentally beneficial projects - exceeded US$36 billion last year, according to data assembled by the Climate Bonds Initiative.