DEVELOPING UZBEKISTAN’S SUSTAINABLE DEBT INSTRUMENTS MARKET: INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS, COMPARATIVE EXPERIENCE, AND A FIVE-PILLAR STRATEGY
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.23157325Keywords:
sustainable debt instruments, green bonds, Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles, green taxonomy, ESG disclosure, green refinancing, scenario analysis.Abstract
This article develops a five-pillar framework for deepening Uzbekistan’s domestic market for sustainable debt instruments, drawing on ICMA standards and a structured comparison of the United States, Japan, the European Union, China, the Republic of Korea, and India. A mechanism-level diagnostic indicates that Uzbekistan has adopted a National Green Economy Taxonomy (2023) and an IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (IFRS SDS)-based ESG reporting framework for large enterprises (2026). Since 2021, sovereign and bank issuers have placed at least USD 2.7 billion of labelled bonds in international markets, while the only domestic labelled issue to date amounts to UZS 50 billion. Four structural mismatches—external–internal, public–private, strategy–instrument, and outcome–impact—help explain this gap. An illustrative solar-PV calculation shows that increasing the discount rate from 6 percent to 14 percent raises the levelised cost of electricity by about 72 percent (from USD 36.7 to USD 63.1 per MWh), while a 3-percentage-point coupon subsidy on a UZS 500 billion three-year bond has a present-value fiscal cost of about 7 percent of face value. Three policy-contingent issuance scenarios for 2026–2030, disaggregated by issuer category, produce cumulative labelled issuance of USD 3.25 billion, USD 7.92 billion, and USD 13.25 billion, with the domestic share reaching 14 percent, 29 percent, and 37 percent of annual issuance by 2030. These scenarios are transparent analytical illustrations rather than forecasts.
Downloads
References
1. International Capital Market Association (ICMA). Green Bond Principles: Voluntary Process Guidelines for Issuing Green Bonds. – Paris: ICMA, 2025. – 11 p.
2. International Capital Market Association (ICMA). Social Bond Principles: Voluntary Process Guidelines for Issuing Social Bonds. – Paris: ICMA, 2025. – 10 p.
3. International Capital Market Association (ICMA). Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles: Voluntary Process Guidelines. – Paris: ICMA, 2024. – 11 p.
4. International Capital Market Association (ICMA). Sustainability Bond Guidelines. – Paris: ICMA, 2021. – 5 p.
5. OECD. Financing Uzbekistan’s Green Transition: Capital Market Development and Opportunities for Green Bond Issuance. Green Finance and Investment. – Paris: OECD Publishing, 2023. – 79 p. – DOI: 10.1787/27d2489d-en.
6. Climate Bonds Initiative. Sustainable Debt Global State of the Market 2025. – London: Climate Bonds Initiative, 2026. – 16 p. Climate Bonds.
7. Climate Policy Initiative. Global Landscape of Climate Finance 2025. – San Francisco: Climate Policy Initiative, 2025.
8. World Bank. Uzbekistan Country Climate and Development Report. – Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2023.
9. World Bank. Labeled Sustainable Bonds: Market Update. Quarterly Newsletter. – 2025. – No. 10. – Washington, DC: World Bank Treasury. – 9 p. thedocs.worldbank.org
10. People’s Bank of China. PBOC Launches Carbon Emission Reduction Facility. – Beijing: PBOC, 2021.
11. Li Y., Nedopil C. China Green Finance Status and Trends 2025–2026. – Shanghai: Green Finance & Development Center, 2026.
12. Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea. K-Taxonomy (Korean Green Taxonomy) Guidelines. – Sejong, 2021.
13. Korea Exchange. ESG Bonds: About ESG Bonds. – Seoul: KRX, 2024.
14. Securities and Exchange Board of India. BRSR Core – Framework for Assurance and ESG Disclosures for Value Chain. Circular No. SEBI/HO/CFD/CFD-SEC-2/P/CIR/2023/122. – Mumbai: SEBI, 2023.
15. Securities and Exchange Board of India. Business Responsibility and Sustainability Reporting by Listed Entities. Circular No. SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD-2/P/CIR/2021/562. – Mumbai: SEBI, 2021.
16. Reserve Bank of India. Framework for Acceptance of Green Deposits. – Mumbai: RBI, 2023.
17. Financial Services Agency, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of the Environment of Japan. Basic Guidelines on Climate Transition Finance. – Tokyo, 2021.
18. Ministry of Finance Japan. Japan Climate Transition Bonds. – Tokyo: Ministry of Finance, 2024.
19. U.S. Congress. Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. Public Law 117–169. – Washington, DC, 2022.
20. Regulation (EU) 2023/2631 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 22 November 2023 on European Green Bonds and Optional Disclosures for Bonds Marketed as Environmentally Sustainable and for Sustainability-Linked Bonds // Official Journal of the European Union. – 2023. – L 2023/2631. – 30.11.2023. Publications Office of the EU.
21. Regulation (EU) 2020/852 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 18 June 2020 on the Establishment of a Framework to Facilitate Sustainable Investment // Official Journal of the European Union. – 2020. – L 198. – P. 13–43. EUR-Lex
22. Basel Committee on Banking Supervision. Principles for the Effective Management and Supervision of Climate-Related Financial Risks. – Basel: Bank for International Settlements, 2022. – 15 p. Bank for International Settlements.
23. IFRS Foundation. IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information; IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures. – London: International Sustainability Standards Board, 2023.
24. Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. PP-4477 of 4 October 2019 “On Approval of the Strategy for the Transition of the Republic of Uzbekistan to a Green Economy for the Period 2019–2030” // National Database of Legislation. – 2019.
25. Decree of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. PF-158 of 11 September 2023 “On the Uzbekistan–2030 Strategy” // National Database of Legislation. – 2023.
26. Resolution of the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan No. PP-436 of 2 December 2022 // National Database of Legislation. – 2022.
27. Akhmedova Sh. Improving Mechanisms of Sustainable Financing in Uzbekistan: PhD dissertation. – Tashkent: Tashkent State University of Economics, 2026.
28. Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Sustainable/Green Bond Allocation and Impact Reports, including the 2021 SDG Bond and 2023 Green Bond Reporting Series. – Tashkent, 2024–2026.
29. Ministry of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan Issues Next Sovereign International Bonds. – Tashkent, 2025.
30. Astana International Financial Centre. With Support from AIFC Green Finance Centre the First Green Bonds Were Issued on the Tashkent Stock Exchange. – Astana, 2024.
31. International Capital Market Association, Islamic Development Bank, London Stock Exchange Group. Guidance on Green, Social and Sustainability Sukuk. – 2024.
32. Hong Kong Monetary Authority. HKSAR Government’s Inaugural Tokenised Green Bond Offering. Press release. – Hong Kong: HKMA, 2023.
33. International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2023. – Abu Dhabi: IRENA, 2024. – 211 p. – ISBN 978-92-9260-621-3.
34. Pigou A.C. The Economics of Welfare. – London: Macmillan and Co., 1920. – 976 p. Open Library
35. Stern N. The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review. – Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007. – 692 p.
36. Nordhaus W. Climate Change: The Ultimate Challenge for Economics // American Economic Review. – 2019. – Vol. 109, No. 6. – P. 1991–2014. – DOI: 10.1257/aer.109.6.1991.
37. Freeman R.E. Strategic Management: A Stakeholder Approach. – Boston: Pitman, 1984. – 276 p.
38. Porter M.E., van der Linde C. Toward a New Conception of the Environment-Competitiveness Relationship // Journal of Economic Perspectives. – 1995. – Vol. 9, No. 4. – P. 97–118. – DOI: 10.1257/jep.9.4.97. DOI
39. Zerbib O.D. The Effect of Pro-Environmental Preferences on Bond Prices: Evidence from Green Bonds // Journal of Banking & Finance. – 2019. – Vol. 98. – P. 39–60. – DOI: 10.1016/j.jbankfin.2018.10.012.
40. Flammer C. Corporate Green Bonds // Journal of Financial Economics. – 2021. – Vol. 142, No. 2. – P. 499–516. – DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2021.01.010. DOI
41. Pástor Ľ., Stambaugh R.F., Taylor L.A. Sustainable Investing in Equilibrium // Journal of Financial Economics. – 2021. – Vol. 142, No. 2. – P. 550–571. – DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2020.12.011. DOI
42. Bolton P., Kacperczyk M. Do Investors Care about Carbon Risk? // Journal of Financial Economics. – 2021. – Vol. 142, No. 2. – P. 517–549. – DOI: 10.1016/j.jfineco.2021.05.008. DOI
43. Friede G., Busch T., Bassen A. ESG and Financial Performance: Aggregated Evidence from More than 2000 Empirical Studies // Journal of Sustainable Finance & Investment. – 2015. – Vol. 5, No. 4. – P. 210–233. – DOI: 10.1080/20430795.2015.1118917. DOI
44. Schoenmaker D., Schramade W. Principles of Sustainable Finance. – Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2019. – XXV, 394 p. Koha
45. Migliorelli M. What Do We Mean by Sustainable Finance? Assessing Existing Frameworks and Policy Risks // Sustainability. – 2021. – Vol. 13, No. 2. – Art. 975. – 17 p. – DOI: 10.3390/su13020975.
46. Carney M. Breaking the Tragedy of the Horizon – Climate Change and Financial Stability. Speech at Lloyd’s of London. – London, 29 September 2015.
47. Bolton P., Després M., Pereira da Silva L.A., Samama F., Svartzman R. The Green Swan: Central Banking and Financial Stability in the Age of Climate Change. – Basel: Bank for International Settlements, 2020. – 115 p.
48. Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Resolution No. 561 of 25 October 2023 “On Approval of the National Green Economy Taxonomy”. – Tashkent, 2023.
49. Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Resolution No. 221 of 4 May 2026 “On Measures for the Introduction of Sustainable Development and Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance (ESG) Principles”. – Tashkent, 2026.
50. U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Rescission of Climate-Related Disclosure Rules. Proposed Rule. Release No. 33-11421. – Washington, DC: SEC, 29 May 2026.
51. European Commission. The European Green Bond Standard – Supporting the Transition. – Brussels: European Commission, 2026.
52. Global Green Growth Institute. Uzbekistan’s Sanoat Qurilish Bank (SQB) Launches USD 400 Million and UZS 2.25 Trillion Sustainability Bond on the London Stock Exchange with GGGI’s Support. – London; Tashkent: GGGI, 2024.
53. Global Green Growth Institute. Uzbekistan’s Agrobank Issues USD 400 Million and UZS 700 Billion Green Eurobond on the London Stock Exchange with GGGI’s Support. – London; Tashkent: GGGI, 2024.
54. BIOFIN (UNDP Biodiversity Finance Initiative). Uzbekistan Placed “Green” Eurobonds for the First Time. – UNDP, 2023.
55. Central Bank of the Republic of Uzbekistan. Press Release on the Board Decision of 29 July 2026 to Keep the Policy Rate Unchanged at 14 Percent per Annum. – Tashkent: CBU, 2026.
56. International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP). Emissions Trading Worldwide: Status Report 2025. – Berlin: ICAP, 2025.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
