Welcome to the start of the dog days of summer and wishing everyone a very Happy Fourth!
Since the launch of the Paulson Institute’s Green Finance Center last month, there has been lots of buzz in the green finance world. President Xi’s tone-setting meeting in May on environmental protection clearly stated the importance of green development for the country and jump started the government engine at all levels from the central committees to the ministries. We expect the work on green finance in China to not only continue, but also accelerate with full force ahead.
Read about this and other developments in this issue of Financing Green.
TOP STORY
President Xi Outlines Major Green Finance Agenda
With environmental protection being one of the three “big challenges” identified by the Chinese government as a top priority to address in President Xi’s second term, a robust green finance mandate becomes all the more essential. In an important speech at the National Ecology and Environmental Protection Conference last month, Xi laid out a broad vision for China’s green development and directed Chinese ministries to develop plans to support this vision. It is clear that the bureaucracy is reacting quickly; the challenge will be in ensuring results. Read More >>
ON THE RADAR
Green Finance Under China’s Government Reorganization
In an effort to better coordinate pollution control, one of the top three priorities of the Chinese government, President Xi announced a major reorganization of government responsibilities, including elevating and expanding the focus on green finance. The hope is to promote better accountability and coordination across the central government. The latest reorganization occurred following the March 2018 meeting of the National People’s Congress (NPC). Read More >>
The Green Team Speaks to…Qian Guoqiang
Qian Guoqiang is the vice general manager of SinoCarbon, China carbon market specialist, business executive, and former climate negotiator. He has provided policy and technical consultancy to central government ministries, provincial and municipal governments, and large enterprises for many years. Read More >>
MONTHLY RECAP
PI Joins the European Chamber in China to talk Green Finance
On June 1, the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China (EU Chamber) organized a close-door event—“China’s Green Policies Moving Towards Ecological Civilization”—in Beijing. Gracie Sun, PI Senior Advisor was invited to attend the event and shared her insights on China’s carbon market development, green standards, international cooperation on green finance, and the prospects in green finance innovation. Nearly 30 Beijing-based representatives from EU Chamber member organizations including embassies, banks, and companies from the insurance, energy, carbon market, and environmental technologies sectors participated in the event.
Guido Giacconi, National Chair of Energy Working Group at the EU Chamber moderated the event and participants discussed the following green development and green finance topics.
- Will foreign companies be able to find opportunities in green growth and finance?
- Will new measures be adopted to open up the market?
- Will foreign companies with advanced solutions in cleantech get support from financial institutions to come to China?