International High-Level Policy Forum on Financing for Low-carbon was Held in Beijing

On November 23rd, 2022, the International High-level Policy Forum on Financing for Low-carbon Transition, co-hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the China Center for International Economic Exchanges (CCIEE), was officially held. The forum was conducted in a combination of online and offline ways, mainly focusing on topics such as "Finance promotes green and just transformation, towards the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development".

The main forum of the conference was co-chaired by Jiang Zengwei, Vice Chairman of CCIEE, and Bai Yating, the Representative of UNDP in China. Zhang Xiaoqiang, Executive Vice Chairman and CEO of CIEEC, Zhang Dawei, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of CIEEC, and Usha Rao-Monari, UN Under Secretary-General and UNDP Associate Administrator, delivered speeches at the opening ceremony of the conference.

The Chinese representatives expressed that in recent years, China has made significant achievements in promoting low-carbon transition financing. The scale and influence of the green finance market have continued to expand. Innovative monetary policy tools have been established to guide more financial resources into the green and low-carbon sectors. Climate change is a matter of the future destiny of humanity and the development of all countries, requiring joint efforts from all nations to address it. If developed countries can fulfill their commitments to provide climate financing support to developing countries and offer more assistance in terms of funds, technology, and capacity building, it is believed that the synergistic effect of global climate action will be better. At the same time, developing countries should actively participate in the establishment of international climate investment and financing standards and the formulation of carbon pricing rules. They should also expedite the establishment and optimization of climate information disclosure, monitoring, reporting, and verification systems, and strive to achieve alignment with international high-level standards and regulations.

The foreign representative stated that we are currently at a critical moment in history, as challenges such as global warming, the pandemic, and geopolitical conflicts have pushed humanity to the edge of danger. In addressing climate change and achieving sustainable development goals, the issue of funding is crucial. It is necessary to strengthen fiscal planning and budget reform to align public finances better with climate commitments and sustainable development goals. It is also essential to create a conducive environment to encourage more private capital to support sustainable development objectives. Additionally, there is a need to enhance international cooperation to address multifaceted crises, bridge the gaps in funding and technology, tackle debt risks, improve transparency and accountability, and strengthen capacity and governance building.

The conference also featured round-table dialogues on "China and Global Green and Sustainable Financial Market Innovation" and "Implementation Tools to Expand the Scale of Green and Sustainable Finance." Representatives from government departments such as the People's Bank of China and the Indonesian Ministry of National Development Planning, as well as institutions including the China Development Bank, National Association of Financial Market Institutional Investors, China International Capital Corporation , New Development Bank, Societe Generale Group, and the Paulson Institute, attended the meeting.