Environmental impact bonds can help cities invest in green infrastructure


Environmental impact bonds (EIBs) are a relatively new form of financing that combine private investment with government funding in a “pay for success” model. They are different than municipal bonds in that they are intended as a more experimental approach: for instance, Washington, D.C. started using EIBs to test green infrastructure and evaluate the results. Though all current EIBs are too early-stage to show formal evaluations, they are helping promote sustainability initiatives in D.C., Baltimore, and Atlanta.

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