Professor Wang Yao, Director General of the International Institute of Green Finance

China is the world’s biggest carbon emitter, accounting for roughly 28 per cent of global emissions. In September 2020, however, China announced its commitment to achieve carbon neutrality by 2060. To achieve this target, an estimated 138 trillion yuan (US$20 trillion) of new investment will be required in the energy system alone. In response to this challenge, Beijing is exploring numerous mechanisms to reduce emissions and boost investment in green projects, with green finance emerging as a crucial tool for China to hit its reductions target and establish itself as a global leader in the fight against climate change.

To provide an update on the ambitions and outlook for China’s green finance agenda, Asia House will welcome Professor Wang Yao, Director General of the International Institute of Green Finance, to brief Corporate Members on Tuesday 7 September as part of the Asia House COP26 Programme.

Speaking from Beijing, Professor Wang will reflect on China’s growing green finance sector and the importance of green finance to China’s long-term decarbonisation plans. Having emerged as the world’s largest green finance market, with about 1 trillion yuan (US$190 billion) in green bonds in 2020, Professor Wang will consider how China can continue to deepen its pools of green finance and encourage more foreign holdings in Chinese bonds. Alongside considering the prospects of China further harmonising its green finance standards with those of international markets, Professor Wang will also assess the role China’s green financing sector can play to help decarbonise developing economies throughout the region and wider world.

Professor Wang Yao is the Director General of International Institute of Green Finance (IIGF). She also serves as Deputy Secretary General of Green Finance Committee of the China Society for Finance and Banking, as Secretary General of the Green Securities Committee of the Securities Association of China, as fellow at the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership, as advisor to the Sustainable Finance Programme at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment at the University of Oxford and as consultant for the Luxembourg Stock Exchange. She was awarded by Asiamoney China Green Finance Awards 2019 ‘the Outstanding Contribution to Development of Green Finance in China’.

This digital briefing is being held for the Asia House corporate network. To register interest in joining this briefing, please email Edward Danks: edward.danks@asiahouse.co.uk

 Find out more about Corporate Membership at Asia House.