On September 7, 2021, the Green Finance and “Carbon Peak & Carbon Neutrality” Conference was held in China. The conference focused on how financial institutions practice green finance and increase the value of green investment. Representatives of outstanding enterprises in the green economy industry were invited to attend the conference, helping to match the cooperation between key industries and green finance related to carbon peak and carbon neutrality.
To cope with climate change, China has pledged to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. More aggressive measures are taken to further promote green finance. Mr. Li Weibin, the former Chief Economist of China Development Bank, said that companies in the bancassurance, trust, financial technology and other industries have made considerable progress in fulfilling their social responsibilities and promoting ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) investing in the first half of 2021.
Financial institutions are required to optimize business structures and put more weight on green finance. Some financial institutions launched new types of green financial bonds such as carbon neutral bonds and sustainability-linked bonds for the first time, promoting the expansion of the overall scale of green bonds. Some other financial institutions explored the integrated use of financial instruments such as credit, bonds, leases and trusts to create innovative products for green finance.
“The global transition to a low-carbon economy needs huge investments to fuel. Banks, equity investment institutions and fund management companies are encouraged to make green and low-carbon investments overseas,” said Dr. Li Yao, Chief Investment Officer, IFC HK office. In the process of facilitating the "dual carbon" goals, there are huge investment opportunities in various areas, such as:
green manufacturing,
energy efficiency improvement in construction and transportation,
technical development of large-scale energy storage, hydrogen energy, carbon capture utilization and storage (CCUS),
innovative integration of digital technology in the field of energy-saving and clean energy,
enhancement in the capacity of natural carbon sink, etc.
