Hong Kong firms must seize climate investment chances: environment secretary - South China Morning Post
Climate change: BlackRock, HSBC, Hong Kong officials urge firms to seize ‘biggest investment opportunity out there’ | South China Morning Post
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Climate change: BlackRock, HSBC, Hong Kong officials urge firms to seize ‘biggest investment opportunity out there’
- Hong Kong’s environment secretary calls on companies to step up investment in green finance, hydrogen, biofuels and low-carbon technology
- Hong Kong is poised to channel needed investments to sustainable projects in Asia, as well as the Belt and Road countries, HKMA CEO says
Businesses should step up their efforts to capture opportunities arising from the climate transition and leverage Hong Kong’s position as an international financing centre to fund such projects, according to the city’s environment secretary and other conference speakers.
sustainability conference on Thursday.
biggest hourly rainfall on record and major flooding in many districts last week, with
additional heavy rain causing damage on Thursday morning.
climate change is one of the biggest challenges facing our planet today”, Tse said.
“All these events sent a clear signal that extreme weather events are becoming the norm,” he said, adding the government has committed to invest US$30 billion over the next 15 to 20 years on climate mitigation and adaptation, after spending US$6 billion in the past decade.
Asset manager BlackRock sees the transition to net zero as “the single biggest investment opportunity out there over the next decade”, said Michael Dennis, the asset manager’s managing director and head of alternatives strategy and capital markets in Asia-Pacific.
Belt and Road Summit on Thursday.
Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), said at same summit.
green and sustainable bond issuances last year.”
environmental, social and governance-themed funds are now authorised by the
Securities and Futures Commission, an increase of 55 per cent within one year, Yue said.
The HKMA is also taking steps to support the further growth of Hong Kong’s sustainable finance ecosystem, through a mix of regulation and financial incentives, he added.
“There is a lot more that needs to be done in order to support climate transition,” said Yue.
HSBC.
“For corporate purchasing of renewable energy to take place, the government needs to make that happen,” Wu said. “The government also needs to also increase the amount of renewable energy within its power system, in order to attract investments.”
Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”