Climate change: Greater Bay Area can help spur China’s green-energy transition using technology and finance prowess
- The region is well positioned to play a crucial role in China’s green transition, according to speakers at TusPark’s 2022 GBA Summit
- Green finance, voluntary carbon markets and digitalisation of the energy grid are among the areas where the GBA can play a crucial role
The Greater Bay Area (GBA) is well positioned to help spur China’s green transitions in both finance and industrial development, according to international speakers at a GBA summit on Monday.
“The most effective way [to combat carbon emissions] is to promote digital development of core industries linked to climate change,” said Dr Roy Xiang Luo, chairman of the Steering Committee of ESG & Carbon Neutral Investments of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization’s Global Innovation Network.
“The Greater Bay Area is the most developed and integrated region for China’s digital and [information technology] industries”, which will accelerate the development of the green energy sector and help China overhaul its existing electricity supply infrastructure, he said.
Digitalisation of electricity distribution infrastructure and the addition of energy storage facilities are key to accommodating greater production of clean but intermittent wind and solar energy.
The nation’s power grid operators are adding so-called smart grid hardware and software to China’s distribution system to help forecast and manage power demand and optimise electricity delivery.
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Given the concentration of financial resources in the region, Xiang added, the GBA should accelerate the development of carbon markets to facilitate international carbon trading and green investment.
Speaking during a panel on carbon market development in the GBA and Asia, Grace Hui Suk-han, the former head of green and sustainable finance at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEX), said new voluntary carbon markets in the GBA can complement China’s national carbon trading system and promote Asia’s green economic transition.
“They can cover different sectors in the GBA,” she said. “And they can offer the platform to different kinds of investors.”
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According to the HKEX, sustainable financial investment in the GBA is expected to reach US$450 billion by 2030.
“While the government is building an attractive talent pool through industry associations and firms, the different infrastructure within the GBA will require more connectivity before capitalising on [the] significant flow of green funds between China and the world,” she said.
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Greater harmonisation of policies and regulations across the GBA has been an ongoing goal since the official launch of the economic zone in 2017.
To increase cooperation across the GBA, Hong Kong’s financial secretary Paul Chan Mo-po highlighted plans to open branches of Hong Kong’s government-funded start-up incubator Science Park in neighbouring Shenzhen.
He also encouraged start-ups in Hong Kong to align themselves with national development goals and help facilitate the flow of foreign capital into the GBA region.
He also revealed that the number of start-ups in Hong Kong has ballooned to over 4,000 in 2022, up from 1,000 in 2014.
