International verification and disclosure standards will be adopted at several decarbonisation pilot projects in the Greater Bay Area (GBA) as the region moves to boost its green finance sector.
The head of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association, economist Ma Jun, told the South China Morning Post that such standards would be necessary if China were to tap global markets for the almost US$2 trillion needed to finance its aim to become carbon neutral by 2060.
Most of those funds are required for the retrofitting of buildings, clean energy generation, and the adoption of hydrogen fuel-cell and electric vehicles, as well as boosting railway and water transport.
The new standards were among topics discussed earlier this week at a meeting of GBA policymakers in Hong Kong, the Post reports, along with ways to further integrate the sustainable finance markets of the region.
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Ma told the Post that the proposed pilot projects would include short, medium and long-term targets for reducing greenhouse-gas emissions, and project developers would be required to show implementation plans, governance arrangements and the support of scientific methodologies.
He added that it was “entirely possible” for the GBA to become carbon neutral 10 years before the rest of China, because its carbon emission per unit of economic output is “just half” of the rest of the countries.
“With its financial strength, [the GBA] can demonstrate how decarbonisation progress can be achieved and lead the way on further achievements in the future”, Ma said.
