NRDC expert Wu Qi (far left) attending the roundtable on capital market innovation for sustainability @CIFA 

The Climate-Friendly Financial Institutions Workshop, co-organized by NRDC and the Climate Investment and Finance Association (CIFA), was held in Beijing in mid-May, as one of the key events of the 2024 China Climate Investment and Finance International Workshop. 

At the workshop, NRDC China Country Director Zhang Jieqing emphasized that the global low-carbon transition faces a huge funding gap, which requires the mobilization of broader social capital and the continuous promotion of financial innovation. The participating experts agreed that the capital market can play a larger role in the transition, particularly by investing in low-carbon technology innovations. Equity, bonds, insurance, and other financial instruments should be more involved in providing long-term financing for climate actions and solutions. 

Financial institutions can also help support transition finance. The recently released guidelines from People’s Bank of China and six other ministries, emphasize the need to provide financial support for the green and low-carbon development of carbon intensive industries. The experts pointed out that, compared to green finance, the implementation of transition finance for different industries is quite different and needs case-by-case evaluation, thus requiring more targeted policy guidance and financial tools. 

More than 50 experts from financial institutions, research institutions, industry alliances, as well as domestic and international NGOs attended the workshop in person, while more than 160,000 joined online. 

See media coverage by Sina Finance and China Environment News.