China Green Bulletin: Stronger Joint Action Needed to Tackle Climate Challenge

The Caixin ESG biweekly has been upgraded to the China Green Bulletin!

The China Green Bulletin brings you insights into the ESG practices, energy updates and decarbonization efforts that are driving China’s green transition, helping you to make better business and investment decisions regarding the world’s second-largest economy. Stay tuned.

Expert View

This week’s expert view is from Jin Liqun, president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). The bank just had its annual conference, and Jin commented on worries about energy shortage and challenges facing a net zero world.

Jin highlighted the role of climate finance and called on to increase investment in renewable energy. The commitment to supporting mitigation and adaptation climate actions from Jin and his bank, which is quite aligned with international green standards.

Jin’s commitment on climate issues can be seen as one of AIIB’s latest positions on coal-fired power plants. In August 2020, the Beijing-based multilateral development bank promised it would not finance any coal-fired power plants or “any projects functionally related to coal” and would officially rule out coal financing in its new Energy Sector Strategy. One month later, President Xi Jinping made a similar pledge on behalf of the Chinese government.

In a country where coal dominates the domestic energy mix, AIIB’s efforts are seen as pioneering and many others are in this effort now. As of this August, 74 Chinese financial institutions have signed the U.N.-sponsored Principles for Responsible Investment, a 10-fold increase from five years earlier, reflecting an ever-growing awareness of ESG issues in China.

He contradicted the view that the recent energy crunch in China and Europe would slow countries’ carbon neutrality goals, or even lead to backsliding. “We cannot go back to producing coal again due to a temporary supply-demand mismatch, and the investment in new and renewable energy should be increased instead”, Jin said.

Top News Items

Xi Calls for Stronger Joint Action on Climate Issues at COP26


Nov. 1 — In a written statement for the World Leaders Summit of COP26, Chinese Xi called on all parties to take stronger action to jointly tackle the climate challenge. The president made a three-pronged proposal to address climate challenge, including upholding multilateral consensus, focusing on concrete actions and accelerating the green transition. “When it comes to global challenges such as climate change, multilateralism is the right prescription,” he said.

G-20 Summit Ends With Commitment to Address Climate Change


Oct. 31 — The G-20 Summit in Rome ended with the adoption of a declaration reaffirming members’ commitment to the full and effective implementation of the UNFCCC and of the Paris Agreement. Leaders pledge to take action across mitigation, adaptation and finance on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge, reflecting the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. The parties also reiterated their aim to pursue limiting global average temperature to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels.

China Submits to the U.N. its New NDC Plan


Oct. 28 — China has submitted its highly anticipated and long-awaited nationally determined contribution (NDC) to the United Nations. In the newly upgraded plan from its last NDC in 2016, China committed to a renewable energy capacity of 1.2 terawatts by 2030, more than double its current level of 535 gigawatts. The country’s NDC also said it will lower its carbon intensity by more than 65% by 2030 from 2005 levels, and increase the share of non-fossil fuels in its energy mix to around 25% by 2030.

Xi Talks Climate Change With British PM Over the Phone


Oct. 29 — President Xi held a phone conversation with U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson ahead of the U.N. Climate Change Conference. Xi made the point clear during his conversation with Johnson that China’s pledges on carbon neutrality are not easy to fulfill as it involves sacrificing some opportunities for development, but China is determined to fulfill its promise. He also showed China’s support for the U.K.’s role in hosting COP26 to encourage all parties to turn ambition into concrete action.

China Accelerates Green Development in Urban and Rural Areas


Oct. 25 — The general office of the State Council has issued guidelines (关于推动城乡建设绿色发展的意见) underpinning green development in urban and rural areas, setting a target that by 2025 the institutional mechanisms and policy systems for green development in urban and rural areas will be basically established. The country will also make substantial progress on the green transformation of construction and solidly advance carbon reduction during the period, according to the guidelines.


China’s Central Bank Publishes First-Ever Green Finance Standards 


Oct. 25 — The People’s Bank of China announced its standards on green finance for the first time ever. Of the 47 new standards, two were related to green finance: the Guidelines on environmental information disclosure for financial institutions and the Environmental Equity Financing Tool. The move marks the widening scope of the financial standards system in China.

Vice Premier Visits State Grid to Ensure Power Supply


Nov. 2 — After widespread coal shortages, Vice Premier Hang Zheng visited China’s electricity grid operator on Tuesday. He stressed that the energy supply must be ensured this winter and next spring. The state will strengthen control over coal prices and improve the transmission of price fluctuations between the coal and electricity markets. The state will also improve management over energy exports, imports and storage, monitor international pricing fluctuations and stabilize market expectations.

Chart of the Week

China’s new-energy sector billionaires rose to new heights on this year’s Hurun China Rich List, buoyed in equal measure by the country’s ambitious green goals and the fading fortunes of rivals exposed to the real estate and internet sectors. A total of 60 Chinese executives from green energy companies mainly focused on new-energy vehicles made the ranking, up from 50 last year.

Info Desk

Personnel moves

• Chen Fei (陈飞) has been appointed the new deputy director of the China Green Finance Committee, after former deputy director Ma Xianfeng (马险峰) submitted his resignation not long ago. Chen is also the director of the department of corporate bond supervision at the China Securities Regulatory Commission.

Institute changes

• Hong Kong’s government will set up an Office of Climate Change and Carbon Neutrality for its Climate Action Plan 2050 (Oct. 8). The office will be established to further promote full participation by the government and the public in moving toward decarbonization. In the next 15 to 20 years, the government will also devote about $240 billion to advance various measures on climate change adaptation.

• The World Alliance of Universities on Carbon Neutrality (WAUCN) launched in Nanjing (Oct. 27). Led by Southeast University and the University of Birmingham, the alliance is the first of its kind that aims to maximize the contributions that universities can jointly make in helping tackle climate change and achieve net-zero targets.

• Events calendar

The 12th Caixin Summit ESG Session: ESG-Led New Sustainable Growth

Date: Nov. 12-13

Venue: Diaoyutai State Guesthouse

Organizer: Caixin Media

Bloomberg New Economy Forum 2021

Date: Nov. 16-19

Venue: Capella Singapore, Sentosa Island

Organizer: Bloomberg

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