Renewable energy is starting to be financed this way as well. We just need to scale it up with government regulation to ensure the investments are safer than mortgage-backed bonds. This may require some guarantees that there won’t be any retroactive changes in policy (the investor’s nightmare).

Remember that this bond-backed green growth strategy is about building productive assets that have reliable revenue streams. It’s also about cutting energy bills and taking the savings to pay off a loan. The answers are there. We just have to work creatively to create the deals—fresh ways for investors, government and industry to work together.

These investments are long lasting, low in risk profile and highly secure; hence, they’re ideal holdings for pension funds. By providing a small slice of their capital through climate bonds, they could help create jobs at large scale, build a renewable energy export industry and finance a powerful tool against climate change.

So there’s still a chance to get on this train, if—and it’s a big “if”—we choose to write the story that way.