COVID-19 prompted rapid growth in the burgeoning social bond market, which grew sevenfold in a single year, Bloomberg New Energy Finance Figures show.

BNEF said the overall sustainable debt market, which barely existed 10 years ago and includes assets such as green bonds as well as social bonds, grew 29 per cent to hit a record $US732 billion ($948 billion) in 2020. In 2013, the sustainable debt market was worth just $US26.6 billion a year.