Green bond issuance in Nordic nations is at a record high, despite the relatively small size of many countries in the region.

A new report from the Climate Bonds Initiative shows Sweden is the sixth largest green bond issuer in the world, followed by Norway in 16th place, Denmark in 17th and Finland in 20th.

The nations account for 6.7% of global green bonds and 18.5% of those issued across Europe – the Nordic Investment Bank is currently the region’s largest issuer.

On the global stage, annual issuance broke a new record in 2017, reaching an end-of-year figure of €7.8 billion (£6.9bn), a 64% rise from the previous year.

Fifteen new green bond issuers entered the market in 2017 – local governments, their funding agencies, government-backed entities and state banks accounted for two-thirds of Nordic green bond issuance in 2017.

The private sector covered the remaining third. The Climate Bonds Initiative says there is a clear opportunity for private entities, especially financial institutions, to take up a bigger role in green bond issuance.

China’s green bonds grew in volume by 278% and 28% in value over the last year.