Sean Kidney, CEO of Climate Bonds Initiative, interprets the China Green Bond Market Development Report. [Photo/WeChat account: lujiazuijrc]

The 2017 China-UK Green Finance Work Group Results Conference held in Shanghai's Lujiazui Financial City on Dec 1, saw the release of two key reports on how China's green bond and financing markets can be strengthened.

The conference, organized by the green finance commission of the Lujiazui Financial City Management Board and Climate Bonds Initiative, is aimed at promoting the development of China's green bond and climate financing markets.

Sean Kidney, CEO of Climate Bonds Initiative, released the China Green Bond Market Development Report and urged for the strengthening of market education and information sharing.

Kidney said that it is necessary to raise Chinese issuers' awareness to issue green bonds, and encouraged reliable entities to issue them on the international market to attract overseas investors to enable them to learn more about Chinese issuers.

He also suggested holding regular pre-sales roadshows, joining related platforms, and attending related forums to enhance international investor understanding of China's green bond market.

Wang Yao, head of the International Institute of Green Finance of Central University of Finance and Economics, announced the release of the 2017 China Climate Financing Report.

Wang detailed the current situation of global climate financing – the enlarged funding gap and fragmented fund management system, which requires mechanism innovation.

She said that China's green finance system is constantly being improved, which helps promote innovation in the climate financing market.

Green finance that aims to direct financing towards activities that are environmentally friendly, reduce pollution and greenhouse gas emissions, and improve energy efficiency is a development trend of the global finance industry.

Lujiazui Financial City, a core area of Shanghai's international financial center construction, has gathered various financial institutions, capital, talents, projects, and information, to create a favorable environment for developing green finance.

In March, Lujiazui established a green finance commission. Just seven months later, it joined hands with related institutions and enterprises to issue two initiatives, calling on forming a transparent, sustainable, and well-governed green finance ecological system.

Currently, it is working on building a comprehensive green finance development platform, the first of its kind in China. The platform will collect, bring in, and match domestic and overseas green funds, green projects, and green information, promoting the development of green industry in Lujiazui.