Green bond issues could top $200bn in 2017 as new entrants to the market add to the momentum built up by the Paris climate deal and China’s clean power push, said global rating agency Moody’s.

Green bonds, used to finance renewable energy projects and other environmentally-focused areas of the economy, soared by 120% last year to $93bn, and could more than double again in 2017 to $206bn, Moody’s reckons.

"With continued momentum attributable to the Paris climate agreement and factors such as issuer and geographic expansion, green bond issuance will likely reach another milestone in 2017," said Moody’s, quoted by Reuters.