N.Y. State Plans $100M in Affordable Housing Green Bonds

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New York State has secured international certification for nearly $100 million in new green bonds to be issued for affordable housing projects, Gov. Andrew Cuomo announced Tuesday.

Cuomo said New York is now the first state in the nation to have affordable housing bonds certified by The Climate Bond Standards Board on behalf of the Climate Bonds Initiative. New York State Homes and Community Renewal's Housing Finance Agency will issue the bonds under its new Green Bond program. The borrowing aims to create more than 640 affordable and green apartments to be built in Kings, Westchester, Monroe, and Orange counties.

"Green Bonds are an innovative tool to build cleaner, greener, affordable housing and place New York at the forefront of sustainable development," said Cuomo in a statement. "These green bonds will provide hundreds of new housing units to New Yorkers in need, while reducing carbon emissions, mitigating the impact of climate change and creating a more sustainable future for all New Yorkers."

Cuomo said New York State's planned green bonds were certified by The Climate Bond Standards Board after meeting rigorous criteria related to reporting and transparency as well as green characteristics of the underlying assets. The state also had to commit to ongoing annual reporting of the assets funded with the green bond proceeds.

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