Ministry of Ecology and Environment: Green finance serves the construction of a beautiful China
On May 29, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment held a regular press conference for May. At the press conference, Pei Xiaofei, spokesperson of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, said in response to a reporter's question,Green finance refers to economic activities that support environmental quality improvement, ecological protection and restoration, response to climate change, and efficient utilization of resources. Financial services provided by project investment, financing, project operations, and risks in the fields of environmental protection, energy conservation, clean energy, green transportation, green buildings, etc. There are many types of green financial products, including green loans, green bonds, green insurance, green funds, green trusts, carbon financial products, etc.
Pei Xiaofei introduced that the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, together with the financial management department, is focusing on doing a good job in green finance and supporting and serving the construction of a beautiful China.
The first is to continuously improve green finance policy standards. In conjunction with relevant departments, we will issue the "Guiding Opinions on Further Strengthening Financial Support for Green and Low-Carbon Development" to support local development of green and low-carbon industries. Cooperate with relevant departments to carry out research and formulation and revision of green finance standards, and issue the "Guidance Catalogue for Green and Low-Carbon Transformation Industries (2024 Edition)", etc. Implement the reform of the legal environmental information disclosure system and environmental protection credit evaluation, strengthen corporate environmental protection responsibilities, and help the public supervise corporate environmental behavior.
The second is to steadily promote environmental rights transactions. Build and operate the world's largest carbon market and launch a national voluntary greenhouse gas emission reduction trading market. As of the end of April this year, the cumulative transaction volume of carbon emission quotas was 26.203 billion yuan, with a cumulative transaction volume of 457 million tons. Pilot emissions trading was carried out in 28 provinces, with a cumulative transaction volume exceeding 30 billion yuan.
The third is to initially establish a diversified investment and financing mechanism. A reserve bank of ecological and environmental protection financial support projects has been built. As of the end of March this year, 330 projects have been guided to be put into storage and pushed to financial institutions. The credit amount from financial institutions is approximately 210 billion yuan and loans are approximately 64 billion yuan. Cooperate with the People's Bank of China to establish carbon emission reduction support tools and provide low-cost funds to qualified financial institutions. Climate investment and financing pilots were carried out in 23 places, with a total credit of 455.384 billion yuan as of the end of 2023.
Pei Xiaofei said that in the next step, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment will strengthen cooperation with the financial sector, promote the improvement of the environmental factor market and the green finance standard system, accelerate the improvement of policies and systems conducive to the development of green finance, and study and establish a joint promotion mechanism for financial services to build a beautiful China. Help build a beautiful China where man and nature coexist harmoniously.
