China’s Approach Towards Green Financing and Sustainable Development

RUNDOWN

Private Reception: Asia Society Hong Kong President’s Circle Members & Corporate Members
5pm Start
5.30pm Close

Session 1: Program Discussion for ASHK President’s Circle Members & Corporate Members
5.30pm Start
6.15pm Close

Session 2: Panel Discussion and Public Webcast
6.15pm Start
7pm Close

Asia Society Hong Kong Center is proud to present the Chairman’s Dialogue Series, a specially curated series of marquee events bringing together distinguished guests from around the world for conversations with Ronnie Chan, Chairman of Asia Society Hong Kong Center.

In this conversation, Mr. Chan will be joined by Dr. Ma Jun, a leading policy advocate and practitioner of green and sustainable finance in China and globally, and Chairman and President of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association.

This summer’s record heat and extreme drought in China and Europe, and unprecedented flooding in Pakistan demonstrate the pressing need to take serious action in addressing climate change and find ways to develop economies and industries sustainably. Financial Service firms will play a key role in making the transition towards a more sustainable future by managing financing for the enormous investments needed to accomplish these environmental goals, including reaching as much as RMB 487 Trillion to meet China’s demands in the coming 30 years. With Dr. Ma, we will explore a range of questions, from 'How banks and other financial institutions can help China and other economies meet their goals?', 'What are the key tools of green finance that the industry can use and seek to adopt?' to 'How can we develop common taxonomies and standards to achieve maximum efficiency across financial markets?'.

China has recently adopted the world’s largest carbon trading market. How effective is the market in reducing carbon emissions in China and what are the prospects for expanding the market’s reach in terms of access to more industries?

Many of the challenges facing China are commonly shared around the world. What lessons can other economies learn from China’s experience with green finance and sustainable development? What standards and tools are under development to be adopted globally?

Dr. Ma is the Chairman and President of Hong Kong Green Finance Association and the Founder and President of the Institute of Finance and Sustainability. He serves as the Chairman of the Green Finance Committee of the China Society for Finance and Banking, Co-Chair of the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group, Co-Chair of the IPSF Working Group of Taxonomy, Co-Chair of the Steering Committee of the Green Investment Principles for the Belt & Road, a Member of China’s National Environmental Expert Committee, and a Member of the Advisory Council of the European Climate Foundation.

Between 2018 and 2020, Dr. Ma was a member of the Monetary Committee of the People’s Bank of China (PBOC), while serving as Director of the Center for Finance and Development at the PBC School of Tsinghua University. Between 2014 and 2017, he was the Chief Economist at the PBOC and a member of the central bank’s Macro-Prudential Committee. Before joining the PBOC, he worked for 13 years at Deutsche Bank, where he was Managing Director/Chief Economist/Investment Strategist for Greater China. From 1992-2000, he worked as a senior economist and economist at the World Bank and the IMF, and earlier, as a research fellow at the Development Research Center of China's State Council. Dr. Ma received his Ph.D. in Economics from Georgetown University in 1994 and his master's degree in Management Science from Fudan University in 1988.

In 2015, Dr. Ma led the drafting of China’s green finance guidelines and green bond standard. Since then, he has played a key role in developing the global consensus on green finance under the G20 framework, the Green Investment Principles of the Belt & Road, the IPSF Common Ground Taxonomy, and the NGFS work on biodiversity and financial stability.

Ronnie C. Chan is the Chair of Hang Lung Group Limited and its subsidiary Hang Lung Properties Limited, both publicly listed in Hong Kong. The Group expanded into mainland China in 1992, developing, owning and managing world-class commercial complexes in key tier one and tier two cities. He founded and chairs the China Heritage Fund, is a co-founding Director of The Forbidden City Cultural Heritage Conservation Foundation in Beijing, and is former Vice President and former Advisor of the China Development Research Foundation in Beijing. Mr. Chan is a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Chair Emeritus of the Asia Society and Chairman of its Hong Kong Center, and Co-Founder and Chairman of the Centre for Asian Philanthropy and Society. He serves or has served on the governing or advisory bodies of several think tanks and universities, which include: Peterson Institute for International Economics, World Economic Forum, East-West Center, Pacific Council on International Policy, Eisenhower Fellowships, The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, University of Southern California, Indian School of Business, The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, Yale University, Tsinghua University, and Fudan University.

Sponsor

Friends of Asia Society

The views and opinions expressed are those of the speakers and participants and, unless expressly stated to the contrary, do not reflect the opinion, position or official policy of Asia Society Hong Kong, its members, or its committees. Asia Society Hong Kong does not endorse or approve, and assumes no responsibility for the content of the information presented.