CASI was pleased to co-host, together with United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) and Eco-Business, the webinar marking the launch of UNEP FI’s third Asia-Pacific Policy Brief, Greening China’s Banking Sector, delivered under the Regulatory Implementation Support Programme (RISK). The session convened regulators, financial institutions, academia, and civil society to examine how regulatory, policy, and market-based tools have been used to steer banking activity toward environmental and climate objectives, and how these experiences can inform international discussions in an increasingly complex global context.

In his keynote, Dr Ma Jun highlighted that the rapid scaling of green finance in China has been underpinned by clear high-level commitment and sustained policy coordination across ministries, regulators, and local governments. He reflected on how, since 2015, green finance has evolved from a relatively focused initiative into a whole-of-government effort with strong signalling effects on the broader financial system, reinforcing the financial sector's role in supporting the real economy through the transition.

Dr Ma also outlined the core architecture that has anchored China’s green finance progress: a mandatory and regularly updated taxonomy to guide capital allocation and reduce greenwashing risks; a steadily expanding disclosure system moving from project-level environmental benefit reporting toward greater alignment with ISSB - style entity-level disclosure; continued product innovation across instruments, including green loans and bonds as well as transition finance; and a set of incentives—ranging from central bank tools to regulatory assessments and internal bank pricing mechanisms - that have helped accelerate adoption. A key differentiator he underscored was the use of taxonomy-based, required classification and reporting by banks, enabling more consistent benchmarking, oversight, and targeted policy support.

Looking ahead, Dr. Ma emphasised the importance of continued standard harmonisation and interoperability to facilitate credible cross-border capital flows, alongside ongoing innovation in sustainable finance instruments. He also shared CASI’s growing role in capacity-building and international engagement.

Thank UNEP FI and Eco-Business for the partnership, and all speakers, including lead author Shouqing Zhu and moderator Laura Canas da Costa, with panellists Junice Yeo, Shanning Dong, and Peiyuan Guo, for a rich discussion on practical implementation and global relevance.

For the recording, please visit: https://lnkd.in/gg_prXzr