Press release: China consolidates position as global leader on green finance, says new research

Monday, November 20, 2017

China has firmly established itself as a global leader on green finance, with both domestic policies and international leadership bringing real progress, but its needs to overcome some serious challenges to unlock its full potential, new research released today said.

Establishing China’s Green Financial System: Progress Report – coauthored by the International Institute of Green Finance (IIGF) of the Central University of Finance and Economics (CUFE), and UN Environment’s Inquiry into the Design of a Sustainable Financial System – reviews China’s development in green finance, and offers recommendations for future development.

To finance climate action and sustainability, trillions of dollars need to be deployed each year, much of which will have to come from the world’s financial and capital markets. This is particularly important for China. The rapid growth of the world’s second-largest economy has brought health and environmental problems, something the country’s leaders have acknowledged.

Speaking at the recent 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, President Xi Jinping said that the construction of “ecological civilization” and the maintenance of ecological security are the keys to China achieving stable and sustainable development.

The report finds that China – which put green finance on the G20 agenda during its 2016 presidency – is following through on its political commitment to boost the financing required to do this. The report looks particularly at progress since the State Council in August 2016 approved a set of recommendations for action on greening China’s financial system.

Photo courtesy of Sudipto Sarkar.

Source: Press release (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Environment, Investing
Tags
climate change, climate finance, impact investing