The Chinese government seems aware it must develop its economy in a low-carbon and sustainable manner. But how to achieve this is not so clear. Commercial banks have now come together to discuss how to finance China's green sector.
Friday's meeting brings together representatives from commercial banks and academics. They're here to figure out how to finance China's green projects. Carbon reduction is now a priority and more and more commercial banks believe the time is ripe to invest in low carbon projects.
Paul Heytens, Asian Development Bank, said, "The Asian Development bank will in particular support the government's efforts to foster a cleaner and more sustainable growth process, it has invest 6 billion US dollars to support China's low-carbon economic growth."
The global low-carbon technology sector is expected to grow to over 2 trillion US dollars by 2020. China has pledged to reduce its GDP carbon intensity by 40 to 45% before 2020, and compared to levels in 2010. Financial institutions are striving to reshape their business models and design new instruments to help meet these new financing needs.
Shen Yiyang, Senior Energy Expert, said, "It's an opportunity for china to develop a green economy. Government and banks could give more momentum for private sectors in low-carbon filed. "
Experts believe, besides business opportunities, it's also a kind of social responsibility for commercial banks to contribute to China's green sector growth. And for private businesses, this financial support might be just what they need to help them get off the ground.