Sustainable Finance Market Update Q3 2026

By

Charlotte Plaisant Millecamps

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,

Kaitlin Edwards

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&

Spring is here, and so is the latest edition of our quarterly Sustainable Finance newsletter. This quarter, we shine a light on the agriculture sector and how the Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy can support more sustainable farming practices. We also cover recent transaction highlights, key market developments, including the latest on data centres, and how one organisation is helping to ensure First Nations communities have a seat at the table as Australia’s energy transition continues.

Market recap - Q3 2026

Figure 1 – Global Sustainable Finance Issuance by Year (2026: Q3 YTD). Source: Bloomberg/Westpac

Figure 2 – Australian Sustainable Finance Issuance by Year (2026: Q3 YTD). Source: Bloomberg/Westpac

Through the first three quarters of 2026, global sustainable debt issuance reached USD 1,775bn, with a strong quarterly result despite continued uncertainty across capital markets. The quarterly issuance figure was supported by strong Green Bond volumes, including Italy’s EUR 8bn Green Bond, which attracted orders of more than 13 times the issue size and Spain’s EUR 4bn Green Bond, which similarly saw elevated demand. Sovereign issuance continues to support the labelled bond market, reflecting a broader global trend of governments financing key infrastructure priorities linked to the transition.

On the domestic front, labelled issuance was quieter than in recent quarters, with the AOFM’s Green Bond issuance having somewhat distorted the previous quarter’s volumes. Total issuance reached USD 12.9bn and was split relatively evenly across Green Bonds (USD 3.5bn), Sustainability Bonds (USD 3.7bn) and Green Loans (USD 3.2bn). Australian labelled issuance reached USD 50bn in the first three quarters of 2026, putting the market within reach of surpassing its USD 54bn annual record set in 2025.

Sustainable Bonds

Global sustainable bond issuance is on track to surpass the record set in 2021, with YTD 2026 issuance currently reported at USD 1,599bn. While Q4 typically sees lower than average volumes, ongoing sovereign funding requirements and strong issuance from the Asia-Pacific region may continue to support activity. During Q3 2026, issuance volumes included:

Globally, Green Bond issuance reached USD 232bn, marking a second consecutive quarter above USD 200bn.
Transition Bond issuance reached USD 3.1bn, including Korea East-West Power’s new Climate Transition Bond following the release of its Green and Climate Transition Finance Framework.
Australian dollar-denominated labelled bond issuance (USD 7.2bn) softened this quarter, although government issuers remained active, with transactions from the Victorian and South Australian State Governments.

Sustainable Loans

Global sustainable loan issuance may have found a key support level, holding steady in Q3 at USD 65.8bn, broadly in line with the previous quarter and the average across the past four quarters. Australian issuance ran somewhat counter to this trend, with volumes reaching USD 5.7bn during the quarter.

Through the first three quarters, global sustainable loan volumes showed signs of resilience, supported by strong demand from digital infrastructure issuers. Virtus Data Centres, a UK-based developer and operator, issued a GBP 1.2bn green capex facility as part of a broader financing package.
Sustainability-Linked Loan volumes ticked up in Q3, recording their strongest quarterly result since Q2 2025. Norwegian biorefinery Borregaard refinanced its NOK 1,500m sustainability-linked revolving credit facilities in September 2026, with KPIs tied to Scope 1 and 2 emissions and safety improvements.
Australia’s share of global labelled loan issuance has continued to rise, with Australian YTD 2026 volumes representing 6.6% of global issuance, up from 3.4% in 2022.

Notable Sustainable Finance Transactions – Q3 2026

Atmos Renewables – Green Loan

Atmos Renewables reached financial close on two major projects supported by the Australian Government’s Capacity Investment Scheme: the 400MW / 1,600MWh Teebar Battery Energy Storage System in Queensland and the 470MW Parron Wind Farm in Western Australia. Teebar will provide four hours of energy storage, storing electricity when supply is abundant and dispatching it during periods of higher demand, while Parron will supply renewable electricity to Synergy, Western Australia’s largest electricity retailer under a long-term Power Purchase Agreement. The project financings follow Atmos’ December 2025 green loan refinancing of its operating renewable energy portfolio.

Westpac acted as a Joint Sustainability Coordinator

Treasury Corporation of Victoria – Green Bond

Treasury Corporation of Victoria (TCV) issued a new AUD2bn 2042 Green Bond under its updated Sustainable Bond Framework, extending its labelled issuance programme further along the Australian yield curve. The Framework received Moody's highest Sustainable Quality Score (SQS1), reflecting best-practice alignment with international market standards. Through its sustainable financing platform, TCV allocates proceeds to projects supporting climate change mitigation, adaptation and resilience, sustainable water management and biodiversity outcomes. Eligible expenditures have included major investments in Melbourne's Suburban Rail Loop, Victorian renewable energy initiatives, flood recovery and resilience measures and water infrastructure projects, highlighting the breadth of environmental outcomes being supported across the State.

Westpac acted as Joint Lead Manager.

Levande - Sustainability-Linked Loan

Levande extended and upsized its Sustainability-Linked Loan to AUD1.7bn, reinforcing its position as a leading participant in the sustainable finance market for Australia's retirement living sector. Building on the sustainability-linked financing first established in 2024, the facility continues to link borrowing costs to environmental and social performance targets focused on greenhouse gas emissions reduction, sustainable design and resident wellbeing. The transaction supports Levande's ongoing investment in its national portfolio of retirement communities and reflects growing recognition of the role sustainable finance can play in supporting housing, wellbeing and living sector infrastructure across Australia.

Westpac acted as a Joint Sustainability Coordinator

South Australian Financing Authority (SAFA) - Sustainability Bond

The South Australian Government Financing Authority increased its May 2035 Sustainability Bond, continuing to support one of Australia's most comprehensive public sector sustainability financing programmes. Issued under SAFA's Sustainability Bond Framework, proceeds are linked to a broad pool of environmental and social expenditures across housing, water, health, education and sustainable transport. Housing remains the largest allocation category, complemented by investments in water and wastewater infrastructure, public hospitals, schools, and electrified train and tram networks. During 2025, SAFA expanded the eligible expenditure pool to include additional government agencies and programmes, further enhancing the scale and diversity of outcomes supported through the platform.

Westpac acted as Joint Lead Manager.

Kingdom of Thailand – Sustainability-Linked Bond

The Kingdom of Thailand issued a THB25bn 15 year and eight month Sustainability-Linked Bond, its second sovereign SLB and the first in Asia to incorporate a biodiversity target. Strong investor demand saw the transaction upsized from THB15bn, with the final orderbook reaching THB36bn. The bond links its financial terms to reducing net greenhouse gas emissions by 47% from 2019 levels by 2035 and increasing protected and other biodiversity conservation areas to at least 30% of Thailand’s land area by 2030. The transaction builds on Thailand’s sustainable financing programme, which has supported clean transport, water infrastructure, public health and social assistance initiatives across two Sustainability Bonds.

Sustainable Finance Spotlight – Boolah Sustainable Finance Loan

Agriculture remains one of Australia's most important industries, underpinning domestic food production, exports and employment across regional Australia. It’s also a sector with a meaningful emissions footprint, accounting for around 16.5% of Australia's national greenhouse gas emissions¹. At the same time, the diversity of farming systems, climates and operating environments makes it challenging to apply consistent emissions-reduction pathways across the sector.

That complexity is reflected in how the sustainable finance market is assessing agricultural activities. The Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (the Taxonomy) includes Agriculture and Land as one of its priority sectors and provides technical screening criteria around assessing whether activities support climate change mitigation. Recognising the limited availability of emissions baseline data, the Taxonomy does not prescribe emissions intensity thresholds for activities covered in the Agriculture and Land sector. Instead, the Taxonomy places emphasis on establishing emissions baselines, identifying material sources of emissions and developing farm-management plans that set out measures to support emissions abatement over time.

This farm-level assessment was an important consideration in the recent sustainable finance assessment of Boolah’s Sustainable Finance Loan.

Boolah is an Australian broadacre cropping and grain supply-chain business operating across agricultural production, agricultural services and the connection of growers with end users. The business developed Boolah’s Regen4real, a whole-of-supply-chain sustainability and traceability framework designed to bring together information on farming practices, climate-related risks and opportunities, soil and water stewardship, biodiversity, emissions, governance and community outcomes.

Boolah’s Regen4real uses farm-level information, large-scale trial farms and digital reporting to enable measurement, monitoring and evidence-based decision-making. By extending beyond farm performance, Boolah’s Regen4real helps connect activity in the paddock with the information needs of growers, customers, end users, corporate partners and financial institutions to support stronger commercial, environmental and social outcomes.

Together, Boolah and Westpac Business & Wealth’s Sustainability team explored how the sustainability and traceability framework for Boolah’s Regen4real could be used within sustainable finance assessments. The initiative demonstrated one of the first practical applications of the Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy’s proxy-assessment framework, showcasing how existing sustainability information can help inform sustainable finance assessments.

As Stuart Tighe, CEO of Boolah noted:

“No single organisation can solve the challenge of agricultural sustainability alone.

Greater alignment between growers, suppliers, customers, end users and finance providers can help reduce duplication, strengthen transparency and create more value from the work and information already present within farming businesses.

“That is where we see the real opportunity - connecting the work happening in the paddock with value across the whole supply chain.”

The Boolah assessment highlights how sustainability information already being collected within agricultural businesses can be applied in emerging sustainable finance frameworks. As the sector continues to navigate decarbonisation, initiatives such as Boolah’s Regen4real demonstrate how farm-level data can improve transparency, inform financial assessments, and create stronger connections between sustainability efforts and commercial outcomes across the supply chain. Tools such as the Australian Sustainable Finance Taxonomy are intended to provide a common reference point for businesses and investors seeking to better understand, measure and address those challenges. For financial institutions, it offers a practical example of how existing information can be leveraged to connect customers with the expertise needed to navigate an evolving sustainability landscape.

Watch this space for further updates on Westpac’s work with ASFI and our customers on new and innovative sustainable finance transactions.

Sustainable Finance News

Data centres spark second wave of investment

Australia’s data centre pipeline continues to expand as AI adoption drives demand for compute capacity, with industry estimates now approaching AUD 175bn, and most investment expected by 2029. Importantly, the build out extends well beyond the facilities themselves. The scale of new electricity demand is expected to support a further AUD 20-50bn of associated energy, storage and network spending, creating what has been described as a significant second wave of infrastructure spending and a potential catalyst for renewable energy development.

As data centre operators look to fund this next phase of growth, sustainability credentials and social license considerations are becoming increasingly important. According to Environmental Finance, Data centre issuers in the US have remained active participants in green-labelled debt markets, using the green label to secure a modest pricing benefit, or “greenium”, and allow issuers to communicate on rising concerns around energy consumption, water use and broader environmental impacts. For issuers and financiers, maintaining community support will increasingly depend on demonstrating that new developments can manage demands on local electricity and water resources as well as provide transparent information on their impacts. This focus is increasingly being reflected in green financing frameworks, which are evolving beyond conventional energy-efficiency metrics such as Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE), to incorporate more sector-specific eligibility criteria linked to water resource efficiency and water efficient cooling system infrastructure upgrades.

As such, regulatory expectations are evolving in parallel to establish clearer, more consistent reporting and performance benchmarks. Victoria has introduced a Sustainable Data Centre Action Plan, setting expectations for development across planning, energy, water and environmental considerations, with a focus on responsible growth and community impacts.

Overseas, a rating scheme proposed by the European Commission would apply to data centres with an installed IT power demand above 500kW, assessing facilities against metrics including energy efficiency, water consumption, renewable energy use and waste heat recovery.

Together, these initiatives aim to establish sustainability indicators and improve transparency and comparability across the sector, signalling growing expectations for greater visibility and accountability regarding the environmental and social impacts of AI-driven infrastructure.

Australia hits 80% renewables in the main electricity grid

Australia’s National Electricity Market, which covers the eastern states, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory, reached a significant milestone during the quarter, with renewable energy supplying more than 80% of electricity demand for the first time during a brief period (rooftop solar alone met more than half of demand). While the record reflects continued growth in utility-scale and distributed renewable generation, it differs from the Australian Government’s objective for renewables to supply 82% of electricity by 2030, which is measured across a sustained period. Increasing levels of curtailment also highlight the further investment required in transmission and energy storage to support the energy transition.

ASIC sets expectations for next AASB S2 reporting cycle

The Australian Securities & Investments Commission (ASIC) has released its first review of sustainability reports lodged under Australia’s AASB S2 mandatory climate-related disclosure regime, assessing a sample of reports submitted for the 31 December 2025 reporting period. ASIC observed a general improvement in disclosure quality and consistency, echoing themes highlighted in a KPMG authored analysis which found organisations disclosed an average of 2.4 climate-related risks with potential material financial impact. ASIC’s eight key action areas suggest the next stage of reporting maturity lies in demonstrating the financial consequences of those risks. A recurring theme throughout the review was the need for stronger links between sustainability reports and financial statements, noting many entities relied on qualitative descriptions of climate-related impacts, while providing limited quantification of current or anticipated financial effects. ASIC also called for clearer disclosure of assumptions and uncertainties underpinning climate-related assessments, alongside more transparent reporting of climate-related targets and value chain impacts. As the reporting regime continues to be phased in, the findings provide an early indication of how ASIC expects organisations to apply the AASB S2 disclosures.

Australian Government Treasury reviews climate reporting framework

The Australian Treasury has launched a consultation on targeted reforms to the country’s mandatory climate-related financial disclosure regime and published new voluntary guidance on climate transition planning. The proposed changes aim to reduce compliance costs, refine assurance requirements and ease value-chain data collection requests, while maintaining alignment with AASB S2 Mandatory Climate-related Disclosures and international disclosure standards.

The consultation is significant for sustainable finance markets as more entities enter the reporting regime and investors increasingly rely on climate-related disclosures to assess risk and opportunity. The accompanying transition planning guidance provides an Australian-focused framework for organisations developing climate transition plans. Building on the Transition Plan Taskforce Transition Planning Cycle, it aims to support more consistent climate-related disclosures and strengthen transition planning practices across the Australian economy.

Türkiye publishes Green Taxonomy regulation

Türkiye, which will host the 31^st United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP31) in November 2026, has joined a growing number of countries adopting formal sustainable finance taxonomies, with its Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change publishing the Turkish Green Taxonomy that aims to support sustainable investment and reduce greenwashing risks in Türkiye. Market participants noted the publication is closely aligned with the EU Taxonomy, which may improve comparability across sustainable finance strategies and investment approaches. The release reflects the continued spread of more consistent definitions of sustainable economic activity across global markets.

The Sustainable finance team recommends

The Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation (YEC) provides a leading example of how First Nations communities are taking a more substantive role in Australia’s renewable energy transition. Established through a partnership between the Yindjibarndi people and ACEN, YEC is developing up to 3GW of renewable energy capacity in the Pilbara. Its first project, the Jinbi Solar Project, recently reached financial close and will supply renewable energy to Rio Tinto under a Power Purchase Agreement, supporting the decarbonisation of its iron ore operations in the region once operational.

The YEC model reflects a broader trend of First Nations communities having greater participation and ownership in clean energy developments. The First Nations Clean Energy Network advocates for this direction nationally, while building awareness and supporting First Nations communities to develop the knowledge and capability needed to participate in and benefit from the energy transition.

^{1Quarterly Update of Australia's National Greenhouse Gas Inventory - March 2026}

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