Implementation of International Sustainable Financing Practices into the National Debt System. Can Infrastructure Loans Become Responsible?

The article examines the debt instruments of responsible financing, presented in world practice mainly in the form of green bonds, following the common principles of the International Capital Market Association (ICMA). A brief description of each bond issue model is provided: green bonds, social bonds, sustainability bonds, sustainability-linked bonds, and climate transition bonds. For each of the models for issuing responsible bonds, issuing companies are given as examples, with a brief description of the corresponding target parameters. The article focuses on the special measures of federal monetary support to Russian regions introduced in 2021. Based on the adopted comparative typological research method, these measures are analyzed from the standpoint of correlation with the established principles of sustainable financing and accepted widespread (general) international practice. Moreover, attention is paid both to interbudgetaryfinancial instruments presented in the form of infrastructure loans and new infrastructure projects for the purposes of regional economic development, and to the forthcoming issue of infrastructure bonds by Russian financial development institutions (in particular, Dom.RF). It is emphasized that the states themselves, and not only the corporate sector, are becoming active participants in the markets for sustainable financing, realizing the goals of long-term infrastructure development and the implementation of regional economic policies combined with a sectoral approach based on the principles of green economy (exemplified by Germany). A conclusion is made about the possibility of implementing new federal instruments of regional economic support in the system of target principles of sustainable development (ESG criteria). To achieve such a result, a qualitatively deep structuring of the proposed Russian financial instruments for infrastructure development will be required. Above all, this relates to the inclusion in the responsible debt policy instrument methodology of such four core components of the ICMA’s green bond principles (GBP) as the Use of Proceeds (1), Process for Project Evaluation and Selection (2), Management of Proceeds (3), and Reporting (4).