Green zones to help fund fight against pollution

China's central bank said it is working together with local governments to develop five new green finance pilot zones, an initiative that will help fund the country's fight against pollution - which some analysts have estimated will cost over 3 trillion yuan ($440 billion) annually in investment.

The central bank said a State Council executive meeting earlier in the month approved a plan for setting up the five green finance pilot zones in Zhejiang, Guangdong, Guizhou and Jiangxi provinces, as well as in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region. The zones are designated regions where financial institutions will be given incentives to issue loans to and fund environmentally-friendly industry.

People's Bank of China Vice-Governor Chen Yulu said they were considering two new methods to encourage financial institutions to participate in the construction of the new pilot zones.