GREEN (ESG) BONDS AND SUSTAINABLE DEBT FINANCING MARKETS: INSTRUMENTS, STANDARDS, COST OF CAPITAL AND INVESTOR BASE

Aleksandr Petrov

doi:10.29039/2409-6024-2026-14-9-182-191

VAK Russia 5.2.3 UDC 33 CSCSTI 06.35 Russian Classification of Professions by Education 38.00.00 Russian Library and Bibliographic Classification 650 Russian Trade and Bibliographic Classification 775 BISAC BUS VAK Russia 5.2.1 VAK Russia 5.2.4 VAK Russia 5.2.5 VAK Russia 5.2.6 VAK Russia 5.2.7

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GREEN (ESG) BONDS AND SUSTAINABLE DEBT FINANCING MARKETS: INSTRUMENTS, STANDARDS, COST OF CAPITAL AND INVESTOR BASE

Published in Russian Journal of Management · Volume 14, Issue 9, 2026 · Pages 182–191 · Rubric: Financial management

DOI: https://doi.org/10.29039/2409-6024-2026-14-9-182-191

Received: 18.10.2026 Accepted: 18.10.2026 Published: 20.10.2026

Authors

Aleksandr Petrov

Academic degree: doctor of economic sciences

Science rang: professor

Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation zaveduyuschiy kafedroy · kafedra audita i korporativnoy otchetnosti · Russian Federation · Moscow

ABSTRACT

The sustainable debt financing market has become an independent segment of the capital market, where green and sustainability-linked instruments coexist with conventional bonds and loans. The environmental or social label of an issue rests not on a special security design but on the intended use of proceeds and a confirming standard, which shifts the weight to taxonomies and external verification. The cost of sustainable borrowing is affected by the “green premium”, which is unstable over time and depends on the issuer's profile, the standard and the composition of buyers. The investor base is shifting towards institutional participants with long-term mandates, changing the structure of demand. Russian practice develops around a national taxonomy and limited access to external venues, and its barriers are both institutional and conjunctural. Trust in the instrument is undermined by “greenwashing”, the gap between declared environmental quality and actual effect. The article provides a systematisation of sustainable debt instruments, standards and verification mechanisms, the nature of the green premium, the investor base and the applicability conditions of these instruments.

KEYWORDS

green bonds, sustainable finance, ESG bonds, sustainability-linked loans, taxonomy, verification, investor base, low-carbon transition

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Chief editor

Aleksandr Suglobov

a_suglobov@mail.ru

Deputy Editor-in-chief

Aleksey S. Mindrin

Publishing editor

Nadezhda Troitskaya

nn2209@mail.ru +7(915)259-03-86

This work is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International Creative Commons

GOST

Petrov A. M. GREEN (ESG) BONDS AND SUSTAINABLE DEBT FINANCING MARKETS: INSTRUMENTS, STANDARDS, COST OF CAPITAL AND INVESTOR BASE // Russian Journal of Management. 2026. no. 9. pp. 182-191. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29039/2409-6024-2026-14-9-182-191. (Date of access 25.10.2026).

MLA

Aleksandr Petrov. "GREEN (ESG) BONDS AND SUSTAINABLE DEBT FINANCING MARKETS: INSTRUMENTS, STANDARDS, COST OF CAPITAL AND INVESTOR BASE." Russian Journal of Management 14.9 (2026): 182-191. DOI: https://doi.org/10.29039/2409-6024-2026-14-9-182-191.

APA

Petrov A. M. (2026). GREEN (ESG) BONDS AND SUSTAINABLE DEBT FINANCING MARKETS: INSTRUMENTS, STANDARDS, COST OF CAPITAL AND INVESTOR BASE. Russian Journal of Management, 14(9), 182-191. https://doi.org/10.29039/2409-6024-2026-14-9-182-191

Chicago

Aleksandr Petrov. "GREEN (ESG) BONDS AND SUSTAINABLE DEBT FINANCING MARKETS: INSTRUMENTS, STANDARDS, COST OF CAPITAL AND INVESTOR BASE." Russian Journal of Management 14, no. 9 (2026): 182-191. https://doi.org/10.29039/2409-6024-2026-14-9-182-191.

WIKI

{{cite journal | author = Petrov A. M. | title = GREEN (ESG) BONDS AND SUSTAINABLE DEBT FINANCING MARKETS: INSTRUMENTS, STANDARDS, COST OF CAPITAL AND INVESTOR BASE | journal = Russian Journal of Management | year = 2026 | volume = 14 | issue = 9 | pages = 182-191 | doi = 10.29039/2409-6024-2026-14-9-182-191 }}

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GREEN (ESG) BONDS AND SUSTAINABLE DEBT FINANCING MARKETS: INSTRUMENTS, STANDARDS, COST OF CAPITAL AND INVESTOR BASE

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