Standard Chartered closes USD200 million Clean Cooking Outcome Bond

Standard Chartered announced it acted as sole Lead Manager and Bookrunner for a USD200 million outcome bond issued by the World Bank (IBRD) that will unlock USD30.5 million to finance cleaner cooking devices in Ghana.

• Transaction details: The USD200 million, 6-year Clean Cooking Outcome Bond (full principal protection from IBRD) has returns linked to Article 6.2 ITMOs, is structured with a fixed coupon plus a variable coupon tied to ITMO generation, and will be disbursed in four milestone-linked tranches. The KliK Foundation will purchase the ITMOs (issued to its account in the Swiss Emissions Trading Registry), with Switzerland levying an OMGE contribution and retiring the ITMOs against its NDC. Investors came from a diverse base across four regions and Standard Chartered acted as sole Lead Manager and Bookrunner.

• Project implementation and background: The bond will unlock USD30.5 million to finance deployment of 415,000 cleaner cooking devices in Ghana between 2025 and 2028, with Electric Cookstoves (EC) for households with grid access and Improved Cookstoves (ICS) for biomass-dependent households, distributed by UpEnergy. Carbon revenues will subsidise devices; globally ~2.1 billion people use traditional solid biomass fuels and the release cites 28,000 premature annual deaths in Ghana linked to household air pollution. Funding, verification and issuance of ITMOs follow Article 6.2 procedures.