The Commonwealth Bank of Australia has issued a new A$650 million certified climate bond, also known as a "green bond".The CBA's green bond has been certified by the Climate Bond Standards Board, based on the proposed use of proceeds, which are earmarked to fund 12 domestic clean energy and low-carbon projects, including renewable energy generation through solar, wind, energy efficient buildings and low-carbon transport projects. Use of the proceeds will be reviewed regularly, both internally by the bank and by Ernst & Young, who will provide an independent review against the Climate Bonds Standard and relevant sector criteria annually until the bond matures in February 2022.The amount raised makes this "one of the largest [green bonds] to date issued by a bank in Australia," according to the Climate Bonds InitiativeAll four of Australia's major banks have now issued Climate Certified Bonds, a status unmatched in any other advanced economy financial sector, according to Sean Kidney, CEO of the Climate Bonds Initiative. "Active leadership from a major bank like Commonwealth Bank sends a strong signal that green bonds have an increasing role in funding new infrastructure, clean energy and helping nations finance their climate action plans," he said."Australia now has the distinction of being the only nation in the world where almost every green bond issued has been Climate Bonds Certified. This reflects a strong adherence to international best practice from the domestic finance sector and is a positive example for other nations and markets." According to Simon Ling, CBA's managing director debt markets, increasing investor awareness and sophistication will fuel demand for climate bonds. "Based on the strong pipeline for renewable and low-carbon projects we expect to see this growth increase in the next five years in the Australian market," he said.