Hong Kong can play key role as Asia catches up on transition to cleaner energy, former UN climate chief says

Name: The surprising hurdle slowing China’s switch to green energy
Uploaded: 2023-01-12T12:00:18.000Z
Duration: 8 min 42 s
Description: The surprising hurdle slowing China’s switch to green energy

Hong Kong could play a key role in supporting at least the Asian banking sector to reduce its climate risks and take advantage of growth opportunities, Christiana Figueres tells Asian Financial Forum

HSBC’s Hong Kong CEO says majority of clients accept that they must embark on a climate transition, but need help coming up with feasible decarbonisation plans and fundraising tools to execute them

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Hong Kong’s Central business district. Asian companies and their financiers must accelerate efforts to transition to cleaner energy, or face growing competitive pressure on both the supply and demand sides, says Christiana Figueres, a former UN climate chief. Photo: May Tse

Eric NgandMartin Choi

Published: 8:00pm, 12 Jan 2023

Companies in Asia have much catching up to do when it comes to their climate transition performance, and this could create opportunities for Hong Kong as a financial hub, according to participants at two forums on sustainable development.

“On the whole, in Asia, regulators are ahead of businesses and financial institutions, which is different to many other parts of the world,” Christiana Figueres, a former UN climate chief, told the Asian Financial Forum (AFF) on Thursday.

“I’m surprised that Asia hasn’t woken up to this, because in my book, Asia is usually in the front and anticipating what is going to happen … Hong Kong could rise to play a key role in supporting at least the Asian banking sector to reduce its climate risks and take advantage of the growth opportunities.”

Figueres oversaw the talks that led in 2015 to the Paris Agreement, which committed governments globally to containing global warming at 1.5 to 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels to avert the worst effects of climate change.

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The surprising hurdle slowing China’s switch to green energy

Asian companies and their financiers, in particular, must accelerate efforts to transition to cleaner energy, or face growing competitive pressure on both the supply and demand sides, she said.