Opinion | As the world wakes up to the climate change emergency, Hong Kong turns towards green finance

Even amid the crisis of Brexit in Britain, MPs managed to approve a non-binding motion this month to declare a climate emergency in response to public protests in recent weeks. Perhaps the real wake-up call came with local election results – voters care.

In Hong Kong, climate change is no longer an issue for activists. It has entered the mainstream. Financial big guns are piping up in refreshing ways. Some who had thought the environment was not sufficiently profitable are now changing their tune.

Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po waxes about green finance for green development in his blog. He wants Hong Kong to raise large sums of money to combat climate change, such as by developing renewable energy and adapting infrastructure to cope with extreme weather.

He is a relatively recent convert. He made his mark with the 2018 budget announcing a green bond issuance programme of up to HK$100 billion (US$12.7 billion) to fund local public green projects and help attract more bond issuers to Hong Kong. Hong Kong is about to go on a roadshow for its first batch of green bonds.