On December 3, 2024, the 12th China SIF Annual Conference was successfully held in Beijing. The conference was hosted by SynTao Green Finance, with co-hosts from the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative (UN SSE). A number of experts from regulatory bodies, markets, academia and domestic and international organisations expressed their views, discussed the 20-year development of ESG investment and the opportunities and challenges of responsible investment in China.
The "Parallel Forum B1: Climate Resilience and Corporate Transition" of this year's conference was moderated by Dr. Stan HO Ho-ming, Visiting Professor of the School of Economics and Management at the University of Hong Kong (HKU); Chief Representative of SynTao Green Finance International Limited.
During the panel, Charles NGUYEN, Managing Director and Head of ESG Asia at Neuberger Berman, Kazuma OSAKI, Head of Asia-Pacific Policy at the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), WU Xinghua, Deputy Director of the Quality, Safety and Environmental Protection Department of China Three Gorges Renewables (Group) and DENG Manshu, Hong Kong Chapter Lead of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ),
discussed topics such as climate transition investment frameworks, drivers of corporate transition planning, policy progress in various countries, China's carbon accounting system, and the application of related technologies.
Charles NGUYEN, Managing Director and Head of ESG Asia at Neuberger Berman, said that transition finance is a hot topic and will continue to attract attention. Assessing a transition plan requires a comprehensive consideration of both qualitative and quantitative factors, not only focusing on the company's future development direction but also deeply understanding its business model.
He also pointed out contradictions between the actual complexity of the transition progress and the simplicity of reporting in the current stage. This complexity is manifested in multiple levels such as geopolitics, technology, and financing. He believes that although the ESG data environment has improved, investors face data coverage and cost issues when constructing a data system, and differences in disclosure standards across different regions affect data integration. However, with the joint efforts of standardization, these problems are expected to be resolved gradually.
Kazuma OSAKI, Head of Asia-Pacific Policy at the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), said that since 2020, there has been significant progress in global net-zero policies, and G20 countries have achieved remarkable results in many aspects. However, he notes that globally there is still room for improvement. For example, many countries still lack net-zero policies with a clear reference to the goals of the Paris Agreement, many also have a greater focus on policies accounting for retrospective climate performance rather than supporting or requiring forward-looking commitments, and many are yet to draw clear lines of connection with other (non-climate) sustainable development issues.
He however also mentioned that with foundational policies in place, governments are in a strong position to mature their net-zero policies and that multilateral perspectives to provide support for low- and middle-income countries will become increasingly important. He encouraged that there are positive examples from countries such as the United Kingdom, South Korea, Germany, and France in policies clarifying approaches to fo ssil fuel phase-out, as well as examples from countries such as South Africa and Nigeria in linking carbon budgets with corporate transition.
Finally, he emphasized that investors are increasingly asking for a policy response to the net zero transition as sustainability-related outcomes affect their long-term ability to generate value. As such, he shared that investors are particularly interested in governments developing a consistent and coherent whole-of-government approach to the economic transition, the improvement of foundational sustainable finance policies, the alignment of economic activities in various sectors with net-zero goals, and global financial architecture reforms that better supports capital mobilization to net-zero transitions in emerging markets.
WU Xinghua, Deputy Director of the Quality, Safety and Environmental Protection Department of China Three Gorges Renewables (Group), believes that under the current dual-carbon emission control policy, as a new energy development enterprise, Three Gorges Energy focuses on new energy development forms supported by carbon footprint accounting and user groups in urgent need of carbon labels, and plans to take this as an opportunity to continuously improve the company's ESG governance.
She also pointed out that new energy sources such as hydropower are the infrastructure for addressing climate change issues, but currently they are facing problems of power consumption/absorption and peak shaving. The mismatch between the distribution of new energy resources and that of industrial zones leads to consumption difficulties and requires long-distance power transmission and peak shaving. However, the current carbon accounting methods for different peak shaving means are unclear, affecting the carbon emission accounting results of new energy projects and, in turn, related to product exports and electricity price advantages. Therefore, the improvement of the national carbon accounting system is of great importance to enterprises, and she also hopes that consulting agencies can play an active role in the process of setting up standards.
DENG Manshu, Hong Kong Chapter Lead of the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), first shared some trends of global enterprises and financial institutions in transition planning. GFANZ has helped to mainstream transition plans with the development of its Net Zero Transition Planning framework that helps translate ambition into action. Since then, 500 financial institutions have voluntarily published independent transition plans and major economies and standard setters are working on transition plan guidance.
She pointed out that the drivers for more companies reinforcing their commitments with net-zero transition plans include both policy and market aspects. Regulatory signals are getting stronger. More than 30 jurisdictions around the world have announced plans to implement or align with the ISSB standards. Policymakers in China are also consulting on relevant policies. Meanwhile, an increasing number of investors are incorporating the assessment of corporate transition issues into their investment decisions.
She also stressed the importance of integrating the transition plan framework with local context to enhance adoption.
During the panel, the moderator, Dr. Stan HO, successively asked a series of questions to the four panelists, covering the evolution and application of climate transition investment frameworks, the drivers of corporate transition planning, the progress of transformation policies in various countries, and the impact of China's carbon accounting system on enterprises, aiming to comprehensively and deeply explore the manifestations and impacts of the complex topic of climate resilience and corporate transformation from different perspectives. Throughout the discussion process, the moderator played a role in guiding the exchange and collision of different viewpoints.
Finally, the moderator briefly summarized this panel and invited the panelists to take a group photo, bringing a successful conclusion to Parallel Forum B1.
We would like to thank our strategic partners Moody's, AXA SPDB Investment Managers, and partners Sungent Urban Development, Huatai Securities for their support of the 12th China SIF Annual Conference. The supporting organisations: include Bank of Jiangsu; SynTao Consulting; Beijing Enterprise Confederation; CDP China; Global Environmental Institute (GEI); Climate Bonds Initiative (CBI); FAIRR Initiative; Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC). The media partners include Sina Finance; The Economic Observer; Caijing Magazine; Stockstar; China Fund News; Jiemian News; Weekly on Stocks; WallStreetCN; Caixin Global; NetEase Finance; Huxiu; qeubee LIVE; Wind 3C Conference; iFinD. China SIF received support from Shanghai Cailian Press; China Climate Engagement Initiative (CCEI); Sustainable Banking and Finance Network (SBFN); Beijing Credit Association; Institute of Finance and Sustainability (IFS); Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI); Aegon Industrial Fund; Yuze Charity; Gems of Wisdom Consulting; BNP Paribas ABC Wealth; CCM CSR Promotion Centre; School of Management and Economics, Chinese University of Hong Kong, Shenzhen; CUEB China ESG Institute; Shenzhen Finance Institute, etc. We extend our heartfelt thanks for their support.
The 12th China SIF Annual Conference serves as the flagship event of the 2024 China SIF Week. Additionally, China SIF Week comprises 9 side events, encompassing a wide range of topics. as The 6th Media Training Workshop on ESG & Green Finance: Capital Market Trends under Green and Low-Carbon Transition, Academic Workshop on ESG, Sustainable Stock Exchange Roundtable (SSER), Seminar on Climate Mitigation Journey and Transition for Financial Institutions, Unlocking Potential Climate Investment: Transition Opportunities in the Energy and Agriculture Sectors, Seminar on ESG Vitality and Impact Investment and Financing: Sustainable Disclosure for Better Business Impact Investment and Financing Development, CCEI Just Transition Seminar Session 3: Just Transition Consideration for Different Sectors and Geographies, China Climate Engagement Initiative (CCEI) Enterprise Visit, and more. Furthermore, China SIF Week also organised working meetings for domestic and international organizations such as CCEI, AIGCC.
You are welcome to follow the China SIF WeChat official account (ChinaSIF), as well as the official account of the organizer, SynTao Green Finance (syntaogf).
For inquiries regarding cooperation intentions with China SIF or requests for information, please contact the organizer at: [email protected].
About China SIF
China Sustainable Investment Forum (China SIF), established in Beijing as a non-profit organisation in 2012, is dedicated to promoting responsible investment and providing an internationalised platform for exchanging and sharing ideas on issues concerning sustainable development, with focus on facilitating Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) integration, advocating green finance, and contributing to a responsible capital market in China as well as its sustainability.
As a member of the Global SIFs Network, China SIF organises Annual Conferences, Summer Summits, SIF Weeks and a series of featured seminars and webinars annually, convening policymakers as well as domestic and foreign experts to share their views, research, and good practice. Professionals and practitioners from research institutes, financial institutions, listed companies, government agencies, and media representatives have joined our discussion and endeavour to explore multiple ways to promote and practice responsible investment and green finance.
China SIF keeps launching a series of landmark research reports, such as China Sustainable Investment Review, supporting the Dissertation Competition on ESG and Sustainable Finance and developing the "ESG Online Classes" series of educational videos together with partners and industry experts to promote ESG investment concepts and practices. Over the years, China SIF has become one of the most influential responsible investment forums in the region.
Please visit https://en.chinasif.org/ for more information. 
