Source: asiainsurancereview.com

China will require financial institutions to transition towards green finance as early as possible, to help achieve the country’s carbon neutrality goals.

China’s President Xi Jinping has promised that the country’s climate-warming greenhouse gas emissions would reach a peak before 2030 and the country achieve carbon neutrality by 2060.

Central bank governor Yi Gang told the Boao Forum yesterday, “We will urge financial institutions to make transitions as early as possible.” The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) will give incentives to financial institutions to support such transitions and will unveil new tools to boost financing for carbon emission cuts, Mr Yi said. The central bank will assess the impact of climate change on China’s financial stability and monetary policy, and consider climate change in financial sector stress tests, he said.

China will continue to increase the allocation of green bonds in its foreign exchange reserve investments while controlling investments in high-pollution assets, he added. He also said that China is drafting green finance standards and is trying to unveil them this year to make it easier for foreign investors to enter the green finance market.