On 19 August 2026, China SIF (China Sustainable Investment Forum) and NorSIF (Norwegian Sustainable Investment Forum) co-hosted an online seminar titled “China’s Green Transition: Policy, Capital and Industry in Action”. The event was the second of two joint sessions the two forums agreed to organise in 2026, focusing on China’s green transition from three complementary perspectives: policy, capital and the real economy. Practitioners, investors and industry representatives from China, Norway and across Europe participated in the event.
The session was opened by Tracy Cai, China SIF Board Member, Co-Founder of SynTao Green Finance and Mette Lindbaek, Managing Director of NorSIF.
Mette Lindbaek, CEO of NorSIF, said in her opening remarks: "China is a key player in the global green and energy transition. We very much look forward to hearing directly from Chinese perspectives and views."
Zhu Shouqing, Senior Policy Advisor at UNEP FI, presented an overview of China’s green finance policy framework and recent developments. Drawing on UNEP FI’s study on Greening the Chinese Banking System, he observed: “China has already built one of the world’s largest green finance markets with bank lending at its center. The next phase is less about the quantity of green finance, but more about financing the decarbonization of hard-to-abate sectors and related issues of transition planning, standards implementation and credibility.” He noted that a distinctive feature of China’s system is the combination of top-down policy guidance with bottom-up practice innovation, and the incremental nature of harmonization between Chinese practices and international standards. “The application of digital and AI tools for real economy transition is perhaps the most important feature to watch going forward.”
Wang Bo, Head of ESG Research at Yinhua Fund, shared observations from an asset manager's perspective on the investment opportunities and risks associated with China's low-carbon transition. He highlighted two key investment themes: zero-carbon industrial parks and green fuels. He noted: "We tend to favour investment themes where the green premium has already been offset by cost savings, so we don't have to rely too heavily on the market's willingness to pay for that premium." He also presented his team's latest research on the Climate Value-at-Risk (CVaR) indicator. They found that while different data providers show relatively high consistency in transition risk scores, there is notable divergence in physical risk scores. This, he cautioned, suggests that investors should pay close attention to model risk and underlying assumptions when using this metric.
Cayla Li, Secretary-General of the Global Solar and Storage Sustainability Alliance (GSSA), addressed the industry perspective on supply chain ESG and China’s solar and storage sector. She pointed out a striking gap: “China makes about 90% of the world’s supply in these sectors, yet when it comes to international standards and global platforms, Chinese companies are barely in the room.” She introduced GSSA, launched at the UNGC summit in Jakarta, which covers the global top 10 module manufacturers representing 18% of global market share. The alliance builds its standards on the UN Global Compact ten principles and IFC Performance Standards, focusing on just transition, people-centric development and governance enhancement. She also highlighted the launch of EVSA, a sister initiative extending the model to other Chinese industrial sectors.
The webinar concluded with a Q&A session covering topics including China’s carbon market development, CCUS technology, and green shipping fuels. China SIF was launched by SynTao Green Finance in 2012 to promote ESG and provide a platform for exchange and dialogue on sustainable investment in China. NorSIF is an independent association of asset owners, asset managers, service providers and industry associations dedicated to advancing responsible and sustainable investment in the Norwegian and Nordic markets.
The full recording of the webinar is now available on SynTao Green Finance’s ESG Online Course Platform on WeChat, accessible free of charge to subscribers.
