LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) -
* Global green bond issuance is seen at $140-$180 billion this year, HSBC said in a report on Wednesday
* Green bonds are fixed income securities used to raise capital for projects with environmental benefits
* Issuance was $149.2 billion last year, up 8 percent on 2017. But the rate of growth slowed due to market volatility and a move towards emerging market (EM) deleveraging, HSBC said
* Those conditions will remain in 2019, it added
* “Supply growth should reignite when EM markets stabilise and as green capex rises in response to climate change damage,” HSBC analysts said
* “But market and EM stability may not return rapidly in 2019; and the speed of the green capex build out is hard to judge,” they added (Reporting by Nina Chestney; Editing by Catherine Evans)