UNEP Finance Initiative

25.08.2010 Share

Mr. Paul Clements-Hunt, Head of the United Nations Environment Programme - Finance Initiative (UNEP FI), and Ms. Wei Peng, UNEP FI Asia Task Force Co-ordinator, are visiting China in early September this year. Months before the UN climate change negotiations they will take the opportunity to engage senior policy officials and leading financial institutions with the view of discussing China's vision of its "green finance" future.

 

Interested media representatives are invited to get in touch for interviews with Paul Clements-Hunt, whose schedule in China is the following:

Previously this year, in an interview with "Southern Weekend", Clements-Hunt emphasised the historic responsibility that financial institutions have in supporting a development model, which was often not particularly "green". Nevertheless, he highlighted a clear trend over the last 3-4 years with a genuine, growing interest in sustainable finance, which goes beyond public relations. Clements-Hunt pointed out that sustainable finance is becoming an increasing "investment hotspot", and added that the sustainable finance industry will reach 1.5 trillion by 2020. The sustainable finance agenda has gained both in breadth and depth, and has shifted from a strong emphasis only on building tomorrow's low-carbon economy, to a more all-embracing view, which encompasses infrastructure, water supply, waste disposal and transportation, among other. This implies a need to rethink the relationship between financial services and bank customers. The Chinese government leadership is clearly providing strong signals to the financial community that will affect how banks, insurers and investment companies conduct their daily business.

 

Mr. Clements-Hunt and Ms. Peng are visiting China with the conviction that the forthcoming carbon tax, as well as the leadership's emphasis on carbon as a "strategic asset", will help galvanise the country's financial community and, although a challenging journey, will see China onto a path of sustainable finance.