China's central bank to double down on green finance

BEIJING -- China's central bank will take a slew of measures to improve its support for green finance, according to Yi Gang, governor of the People's Bank of China (PBOC).

The PBOC plans to launch a support toolkit to provide low-cost funds for carbon emission reduction, and it will also support green finance through a host of measures ranging from commercial credit ratings, deposit insurance rates to collaterals for open market operations, the governor said.

The international community is forming a broad consensus on tackling climate change. China has announced the goal of peaking carbon emissions by 2030 and achieving carbon neutrality by 2060.

"Achieving these goals requires a comprehensive economic transition, and green finance can be an accelerator in this process," Yi said Thursday at a high-level seminar on green finance and climate policy held by the PBOC and the International Monetary Fund.

"In a nutshell, central banks could contribute to the net-zero goal in many ways, such as developing a strong policy system, a diversified market system, and enhancing international coordination," he added.

The PBOC attaches great importance to green finance and has put in place an initial policy framework for green finance, Yi noted.

By the end of 2020, green loans and green bonds in China totaled 1.8 trillion U.S. dollars and 125 billion U.S. dollars, respectively, ranking the world's largest and second-largest. More than 40 carbon-neutral bonds have been issued, with a total volume of over 10 billion U.S. dollars.