ESG Investing Frontiers Forum | Sustainable Finance Supporting Low-Carbon Transformation

The 20th ESG Investing Frontiers

Sustainable Finance Supporting Low-Carbon Transformation

On May 23rd, 2023, the 20th ESG Investment Frontier Forum, "Sustainable Finance Supporting Low-Carbon Transformation," was held offline in Shenzhen.The forum was

organized by the China Alliance of Social Value Investment and moderated by Mr. Ge Xing'an, Vice Chairman of the Alliance. Mr. Ma Weihua, member of the UN Sustainable

Development Goals Advisory Committee, Chairperson of the China Alliance of Social Value Investment, and Director of SusallWave Digital Technology （Shenzhen）Co.Ltd，

delivered theopening speech. Through keynote speeches, roundtable discussions, and closed-door workshops, the forum explored the diverse paths and innovative practices

of sustainablefinance in supporting low-carbon transformation.

In the opening speech, Mr. Ma Weihua emphasized that the next decade will be a crucial period for determining the trend of climate change, and it is

essential to achieve low-carbon transformation as soon as possible. Currently, more than 140 economies worldwide have committed to achieving carbon

neutrality, and China has also proposed the dual carbon targets of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060. To achieve

these goals, it is crucial to reduce emissions in high-carbon industries, and this cannot be achieved without the support of the financial market

for structural adjustment and emissions reduction.

Alexander Chan, Head of ESG Client Strategy at Invesco Asia Pacific, shared Invesco's investment strategy in climate transition and insights on the forefront of transition finance under the theme of "Invesco - Investing in Climate Transition." Mr. Chan analyzed the investment in climate transition from three aspects, including "global trends in climate transition," "impact of transition on finance and investment," and "investment strategies for climate transition," with the perspective of "content, reason, and approach." He emphasized that climate transition in the Asia Pacific region has entered the implementation stage, and investment should consider data quality, carbon pricing, and transition opportunities in Asia.

Tang Min, Counselor of the State Council and Vice Chairman of YouChange China Social Entrepreneur Foundation, proposed suggestionsons promoting the role of transition finance in achieving net-zero transition. He pointed out that transition finance would provide funding support for the transformation of   "brown" sectors, including high-carbon industries such as steel, cement, and coal. The industries that transition finance faces are more complex, with higher requirements for information disclosure, and greater demand for the financial industry. Working in conjunction with green finance, successful transition finance can accelerate the process of achieving carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals throughout society, and promote high-quality economic and social development.

Zou Lin, Partner of Vision Sequoia and Carbon Neutral Fund shared his perspective on "Investment Logic and Opportunities Driven by Carbon Neutrality" from the angle of private equity investment. He pointed out that the cost and distribution of creating social value has always been the core issues in the relevant industries' development, and the carbon neutrality goal provides tools and scales for addressing this issue. Firstly, carbon emissions are a tool that spans industries and industrial chains and can serve as a measurement standard for the social value created by corporate entities. Secondly, the implementation of the European carbon market and carbon tariffs has turned carbon emissions rights into financial instruments. This allows for the market pricing of the social value created by companies and the sale of emissions rights to companies with negative social impacts to offset their costs, achieving social and economic benefits simultaneously, and enabling the entities that create social value to obtain market-oriented economic returns.