Seminar on financing climate actions held

LAHORE: The China Green Finance Committee and the Beijing Institute of Finance and Sustainability arranged a seminar on “Financing climate actions: China initiatives and international cooperation” as a side event of the COP26 Finance Day, both online and in-person in Glasgow, UK, a statement said.

State Bank of Pakistan former governor Yasin Anwer and representatives of some of the largest Chinese financial institutions highlighted the green finance strategies, progress in international cooperation and new initiatives towards carbon neutrality.

Dr Ma Jun, chairman of the GFC and president of the BIFS, said: “Within China, over the last few years, we have developed the world’s largest green lending market and the second largest green bond market. Since [the] end of [the] last year, when President Xi declared China’s carbon neutrality goal, major Chinese financial institutions began to plan their carbon neutrality roadmaps, and some of them have released their detailed action plans on achieving carbon peaking and net zero objectives.”

“Going forward, I expect further efforts to be made by [the] regulators and financial market participants in China to improve green finance standards, enhance the quality of disclosure, introduce stronger incentives and develop more innovative products.”

Yasin Anwar said: “Climate risk is a top global agenda today, for which GIP can play an important coordinating role to promote the finance system to better support global green low-carbon development. Through GIP, an important platform for international cooperation, financial institutions can provide responsible financing to many developing countries, which is conducive to the establishment of a green financial ecosystem serving ‘Belt and Road’ countries and regions, improving the accessibility of relevant countries to green assets and supporting them to achieve their carbon reduction targets.”

Experts from the Bank of China (London branch), Agricultural Bank of China, Standard Chartered Bank, Credit Agricole CIB, Ping An Group, HSBC, UN Environment, APEC Green Supply Chain Cooperation Network and the London Stock Exchange joined the panel discussion on “International Cooperation on Financial Support for Carbon Neutrality”, presenting their insights of transition finance for carbon-intensive industries, carbon neutrality targets of financial institutions, biodiversity financing, environmental information disclosure and related international initiatives.

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