Since Donald Trump’s return to the White House, US companies have all but abandoned the green bonds that were once touted as a way for corporate America to have a hand in fixing the planet.

Only one such US dollar bond from an American firm has hit the market in 2025, a $350 million note from Oglethorpe Power in January, marking the slowest start to a year in at least a decade. For years the main sellers of the bonds have included banks and utilities, with household names like Apple Inc. and Walmart Inc. also occasionally making splashy issues.

Now companies are shifting their approach to the climate cause, after emboldened Republican leaders have stepped up their attacks on investments that try to achieve environmental goals such as cutting emissions, as well social objectives like promoting equality, or governance targets. Bonds funding environmental projects, known as green bonds, are the most commonly sold type of ESG debt.

Even before Trump’s reelection, green-bond sales were down from their 2021 peak amid GOP pushback, inconsistent cost savings for issuers and scrutiny over greenwashing from the left.

“In the US especially, it’s been a pretty steep, decent decline and a bleak outlook moving forward,” said Andrew Poreda, a senior research analyst on Sage Advisory Services’ responsible investing team. “Even just the label of a green bond might be contentious.”

In other parts of the world, issuance is still going strong, with total green bond sales expected to reach $660 billion this year, about an 8% bump over last year, BNP Paribas said in January. In the US, green municipal bonds are still seeing strong issuance. And companies are still funding projects in the US to improve their efficiency and meet other environmental goals — they’re just doing so outside the green bond market.

Companies that continue clean-energy initiatives have quieted their messaging and sustainable debt has taken a hit, with overall ESG dollar-designated bond sales from American corporations and financial institutions down nearly 89% from the year prior through Thursday. The biggest American lenders have staged an exodus from the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, a global climate coalition, and tempered policies around diversity, equity and inclusion.

Source: Yahoo Finance