Growth of green financing as China takes the lead

THE climate crisis is front and centre on the minds of many, not least with the devastating effects of severe climate change (for example, the Australian bushfires) making headlines of late.

In examining the planet's predicament, it becomes clear that the ongoing battle against the elements will be an expensive one and that it's only with investment and innovation in green financing can we collectively fuel progress in sustainability - an area where China is increasingly taking the lead.

The recent United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) 2019 Emissions Gap report found that current initiatives are not enough to keep global temperature increases within the 1.5 to 2-degree Celsius range and that a rise in temperature exceeding 1.5 deg C will threaten the global economy, food supply security and ecological biodiversity. To avoid inflicting more damage to the environment in this increasingly dire situation, both the public and private sectors will have to make a sustained and concerted effort. Enacting measures consistent with this 1.5-deg C goal will require significant financing - according to UNEP, the necessary climate policies could cost up to US$3.6 trillion per year globally. The landmark Paris Agreement of 2015 was one of the first to acknowledge this need to spend on sustainability by calling for finance flows to be more consistent with the rapid reduction of greenhouse gas emissions and "climate-resilient" development.