AFME is pleased to circulate its European ESG Finance quarterly data report for the first quarter of 2025. The report provides detailed data and analysis on the growing Sustainable Finance market in Europe. The report also gives an overview of the near-term regulatory initiatives in the sector.

Among the main findings of this report:

• ESG bond and loan issuance accumulated €373bn in proceeds in H1 2025, marking an 8% decline from H1 2024.
  • ESG Bonds led the reduction, with issuance volumes totaling €218bn, a 10% YoY decline compared to H1 2024.

• • French issuers led in total loan and bond origination YtD with €86bn, followed by German issuers (€57bn). Notably, around 52% of sustainability-linked bonds were originated in Italy.

• Green bond issuance declined by 15% compared to H1 2024, though remaining the largest category by volume, and generating €156bn in proceeds. Social and sustainable bonds, on the contrary, recorded year-on-year growth by 3% and 10%, respectively, while sustainability-linked bond issuances continued their downward trend.

• The share of ESG bonds in total bond issuance in Europe has decreased since 2022. ESG-labelled, sustainability-linked and transition bonds represented 12.9% of total European bond issuance in H1 2025, a lower proportion from 17% in 2022.

• The largest EU Green Bond Standard (EU GBS)-compliant bonds was issued in H1 2025 by the EIB (€2.99bn), followed by ABN AMRO Bank (€1bn). The standard, effective since December 2024, enhanced transparency and review requirements. As of June 2025, EU issuers led in total GBS-compliant issues (€2.99bn), followed by Dutch issuers (€1.75bn).

• Global ESG Funds reached record high with USD 11.9tn in Q2 2025, representing a 21% Year-on-Year growth which was primarily driven by increased allocations to equity and bond funds.

• Widened ESG premia in Q2 2025, from 0.32 bps in March to 0.67 bps in June 2025.