Green Finance

by+Li+Zhuoxi

Green finance， an innovation conducive to sustainable development， has risen in response to climate change and the worsening environmental crisis. Governments， financial institutions and enterprises around the globe are attaching greater importance to it. At the Hangzhou G20 Summit， China made green finance a major topic of the summit for the first time.

The term “green finance”alludes to the idea that the finance sector should regard environmental protection as basic policy and place priority on its potential influence on environment when making decisions on investment and finance， emphasize environmental protection and reduce pollution in a variety of sectors and achieve sustainable development through guided usage of economic resources.

The Green Finance Task Force organized at the Hangzhou Summit worked out the G20 Green Finance Synthesis Report. The report made clear the definition of green finance， its goal， its sphere， and the challenges it faces. Hoping to tilt the market in favor of a green， lowcarbon global economy， the report offered suggestions on implementing green finance.

Analysts note that green finance currently accounts for only a small proportion of global financial operations. For instance， less than one percent of bonds around the world have been labeled green. Moreover， the International Energy Agency estimates that US$135 tril- lion must be invested in low-carbon technology if the world is to achieve the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals.

Some experts estimate that governments can only provide about 15 percent of green investment and that the other 85 percent must come from the private sector. Therefore， a green financial system must be developed to transform green investments and the economic structure.