ESG News | Dec

Selected Monthly ESG News

Sustainable Investment

1. On December 4th, An Qingsong, president of the China Securities Industry Association, said at the International Financial Forum 2022 International Summit on Sustainable Development that 102 securities companies have helped 343 counties out of poverty in pairs. In 2021 alone, securities industry institutions have been helping counties in pairs, serving ten county enterprises IPO, raising 7.045 billion yuan. Moreover, it served entity enterprises to raise 172.044 billion through green and innovative start-up bonds.

2. On December 28th, the Asia-Pacific Urban Industrial Sustainability Index (2022), jointly launched by the Industrial Development and Environmental Governance Research Center of Tsinghua University (CIDEG) and APEC China Industry and Commerce Council, was released in Beijing. The index comprehensively reflects the industrial sustainability level of Asia-Pacific cities from five dimensions: factor input, resource, and environmental pressure, industrial development status, ecological and social impact, and government and policy response.

The index shows that Beijing, Shenzhen, Hong Kong, and Shanghai are among the top 10 regarding industrial sustainability.

Green Finance

1. On December 4th, the Chinese Academy of Corporate Governance released the 2022 Green Governance Index of Chinese listed companies (CGGI). The effective evaluation sample of CGGI is 1366 listed companies. The evaluation system mainly involves four dimensions: green governance structure, green governance mechanism, green governance efficiency, and green governance responsibility. The results show that the average ESG index of listed companies in China is 56.58 in 2022, which is 0.45 higher than 56.13 last year. There is still much room for improvement in the green governance of listed companies.

2. On December 8th, the latest study by the Cotton Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences found that the fluctuation of cotton production was mainly affected by complex climate change. In recent years, the risk of global climate change has intensified, negatively impacting agricultural productivity and the ecosystem, and bringing significant challenges to the safety of agricultural production in China. As an important economic crop, cotton plays a vital role in the national economy. Therefore, quantifying the impact of climate change, such as temperature, radiation, and rainfall, on cotton production is very important for formulating measures to resist the impact of climate change on cotton production in the future.

3. On December 13th, the China Securities Investment Fund Industry Association released the 2022 "Fund Manager Green Investment self-Evaluation report". The report shows that in terms of strategic management of green investment, 25 public offering firms have explicitly incorporated "green investment" into their corporate strategy, accounting for 54.3% of the sample public offering firms. In terms of the operation of green investment products, 33 public offering institutions have issued or are issuing products aimed at green investment. Of these, 21 have issued multiple products, with a total of 108 products. By the end of the second quarter of 2022, the net assets of the products totaled 204.553 billion yuan.

Carbon Finance

1. On December 7th, the domestic electronic contract and electronic signing cloud service platform "Fa Dada" released the first "signing carbon reduction" calculation model, and its products were launched to remind the value of "signing carbon reduction" calculated according to the model. Fa Dada, Enterprise Green Development Research Institute, and Beijing Green Exchange jointly develop the model. It can scientifically calculate the carbon reduction value of each online contract, visualizing the the environmental contribution of electronic signatures.

2. On December 22nd, the cumulative turnover of the national carbon emissions trading market broke through the 10 billion yuan mark. Since the national carbon market was officially launched, it has been operating for 350 trading days, with a cumulative turnover of 223 million tons and a cumulative turnover of 10.121 billion yuan. Wang Dongwei, chairman of Sino-Thai Capital, said that with the continuous optimization of the market-oriented mechanism and trading structure for the formation of carbon prices, as well as the gradual clarity of greenhouse gas emission identification standards and accounting rules for relevant enterprises, the main trading body of the national carbon market is expected to extend from power generation enterprises to other fields to promote the application of environmental protection technologies in more industries to control carbon emissions.

Inclusive Finance

1. On December 5th, Shanghai Economic and Information Technology Commission and eight other departments jointly issued the "Work Plan for the Construction of Shanghai carbon inclusive system", proposing that Shanghai will build a carbon-inclusive platform by 2025 and explore the establishment of regional individual carbon accounts. The Plan encourages Shanghai to tap the voluntary carbon neutralization needs of various organizations, products, services, activities, buildings, regions, and other dimensions under the "dual carbon goals". It encourages enterprises, institutions, and individuals to prioritize using carbon-inclusive emission reductions for carbon neutralization.