1. October 2009-March 2010
Project Updates
The First Internal Training Session Delivered in Sichuan
PRCEE led the first internal training session held in Chengdu on 3rd December,
2009. The series of internal training target officials from departments concerned
in Sichuan EPB, Sichuan Economic Commission and Sichuan CBRC, as well as
experts from local industrial associations and senior executives from banks and
steel and iron companies.
The objectives of the internal training are to raise awareness and improve
understanding of China’s green credit policy for Sichuan provincial government
officials, to promote coordination and collaboration on implementing green credit
policy within Sichuan EPB, and to promote coordination and collaboration on
implementing green credit policy between Sichuan EPB, Sichuan CBRC and
commercial banks, with a focus on environmental policy updates and guidance.
33 participants attended the one-day training. Deputy Director-General Yuan
Qingdan from PRCEE, and Deputy Division Director Li Xiaowen from the
Statistics Department of CBRC Headquarters were the key trainers. The training
was regarded by local participants as "timely", "comprehensive", "systematic"
and "thought-provoking". Banks representatives were very impressed by the
sector research report, as they “had seldom been given such an overall picture
about this sector in the province”.
The event was observed by a project officer in Climate Change Project from the
British Consulate General in Chongqing.
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2. Deputy
Director-General of
PRCEE, Mr.
YUAN, Qingdan
(second to the right)
was speaking at the
training workshop.
Deputy Division
Director Li
Xiaowen (fourth to
the right) from the
Statistics
Department of
CBRC, is speaking
at the workshop.
Foreign Experts Identified to Train Chinese Bankers in 2010
After nearly three months searching and interviewing, two foreign experts were
identified as key trainers to deliver two foreign trainers’ training sessions planned
in 2010. The first training took place in Beijing on 26-27 January, 2010. The
second training session is tentatively scheduled in June 2010. The trainer
s’profiles are following:
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3. Mr. Robert Tacon,
UNEP Finance Initiative Chair
Robert has spent most of his career in banking and for 27
years he was with Standard Chartered Bank. He
represented the Bank on the British Bankers Association
Environmental Committee and integrated environmental
criteria into Standard Chartered’s lending policies and
procedures in the late 1990s. In 2000 he added social
issues to the bank lending policy. Robert was also
instrumental in the Bank adopting the Equator Principles
and was a member of the revision group that redrafted the Equator Principles II in
2006. Robert was playing an important role in Standard Chartered becoming a
member of UNEP FI in 2000 and has been a member of various working groups
since then, including the GRI / UNEP FI to develop environmental indicators for
the financial industry.
Ms. Esther Rodriguez (LLM, MSc. AIEMA),
Associate Director, Carbon Smart
Esther is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
professional with 10 years experience in socially
responsible investment (SRI) and CSR consulting. She
has proven track record in promoting sustainable finance
among financial institutions through her work with the
UN Environment Programme for Financial Institutions
(UNEP FI) and the GRI. Esther was the co-Chair of the
GRI/UNEP FI Working Group to develop sustainability indicators for the
financial industry (2002-08). She verified first carbon neutral bank. She also
successfully developed methodology to assure HSBC against Equator Principles
and other sustainable finance policies.
SynTao Speaks at China Steel and Iron Sector Sustainable Financing
Forum
SynTao was invited to speak at the workshop of “Financing Energy Efficiency
and GHG Emission Reductions in the Iron and Steel Sector in China” chaired
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4. by China EMC Association (EMCA) held on 28 Oct, 2009.
The workshop shared the consultation result on financing mechanisms,
technologies, barriers and drivers on energy saving and emission reduction
projects in the I&S sector in China, and discussed sectoral approaches to
international climate change policies, mechanism and financial incentives.
SynTao Vice President, Ms. Chen Xiaoyan, reviewed the development of the
Green Credit Policy and the impact of the Policy on high polluting and high
emission sectors. She also shares the progress of the current SPF-funded Green
Credit Policy advisory project with the audience.
Steel and Iron Sector Research Reports’ First Drafts Submitted
In the end of November 2009, Sichuan Provincial Steel and Iron sector study on
emission reduction potential and investment opportunity was submitted for first
round review. Mr. Lan Shi, Vice President of Sichuan Academy of Industrial
Environmental Monitoring and Research is leading the provincial study in
partnership with Sichuan Economic Commission expert team.
Mr. Su Yi, a senior engineer from Environmental Engineering Evaluation Centre
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5. (EEEC) of Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), leads the national level
sector research. His team submitted the first draft for review in mid-December,
2009.
Both drafts contain latest data and development of China’s steel and iron
enterprises and addressed the overcapacity and emission issues in dedicated areas
and provided certain policy implications. Compared to the national report,
Sichuan’s study outlined a different picture. It finds that there is shortage of
supply in the domestic market due to the unique property of the steel and iron
produced in Sichuan (mainly contains rare vanadium and titanium) and the fast
growing market demand resulting from the post-quake reconstruction in the
province.
Both drafts will be reviewed and finalized by April 2010 after a series of internal
review workshops.
SynTao Trains Grass-root Environmental NGOs at the Green Banking
Workshops in Chongqing and Guangzhou
SynTao was invited by Green Watershed to deliver Green Banking training to
China’s grass-root environmental NGOs in Chongqing (29th Nov-1st Dec) and
Guangzhou (2nd-5th, Dec). The Green Watershed is the Kunming-based NGO
which initiated China’s first Green Innovation Bank Award in partnership with
other eight native NGOs in 2008.
SynTao joined Friends of the Earth, Bank Information Centre, Focus on Global
South and BankTrack to delivered thematic training courses to over 60 native
environmental NGOs active in South China and Southwest China.
Dr. Guo Peiyuan, the General Manager of SynTao, gave the presentation on
banks’ environmental and social risks, and issues related to CSR. He also joined
the discussion with participants on NGO’s roles in promoting sustainable
financing in China, and helping implementation of China’s Green Credit Policy.
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6. The First Foreign Trainers’ Training Session Highly Rated by
Participants
A foreign trainers’ training session was held in Beijing from 26-27 January, 2010.
The target participants include 40 senior executives of major commercial banks,
banking regulators and representatives from steel & iron companies and their
industrial associations. Mr. Greg Mulheirn, First secretary of Economic Section,
the British Embassy addressed at the event.
The training session provided global outlook on sustainable financing, and very
practical tools such as environmental risk analysis and sustainable financing
assurance. The interactive Q & A stimulated many high-quality questions from
the participants.
According to the questionnaires collected after the training, 97.5% of participants
rated the foreign trainers as “good” and “excellent”. 83.1% of participants rated
the courses as “very useful” and “extremely useful”.
The two-day
training was held at
Policy Research
Centre for
Environment and
Economy, Ministry
of Environmental
Protection of PRC.
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7. Ms. Esther
Rodriguez and Mr.
Robert Tacon
answering
questions at a Q &
A session.
Project Team Cooperates with Chevening Programme to Hold
Sustainable Financing Seminars in Beijing and Chengdu
The project team held two seminars themed in sustainable financing and
sustainable banking in Beijing and Chengdu on 28th and 29th January, 2010
respectively. The seminars were supported by the Chevening Programme, a
prestige scholarship programme founded by the UK government in 1983. The
programme provides nearly 1,000 Scholarships at Higher Education Institutions
(HEIs) in the UK for postgraduate students or researchers from over 130
countries.
There were around 25 Chevening scholars participated in the seminar held in
Beijing, most of whom are from financial regulatory agencies and national
financial institutions. Sichuan Environmental Protection Department and Sichuan
CBRC provided organizational support to the seminar. Despite local Chevening
Scholars, more than 60 participants from local financial regulatory agencies and
financial institutions, including Sichuan CBRC, CSRC, CIRC, commercial banks,
securities companies and insurance companies. Mr. Bryn James, Climate Change
Consul from the British Consulate-General Chongqing gave a keynote speech at
the seminar in Chengdu.
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8. Both seminars received very positive feedbacks from partner organizations and
participants.
Consultation Carried out with Banking Regulator, Commercial Banks
and Steel and Iron Companies in Sichuan
With the support of the Department of Sichuan Provincial Environmental
Protection and CBRC (Sichuan), the project team has started the consultation
with local banking regulator, commercial banks and steel and iron companies in
Sichuan since March 2010. The aim is to collect feedbacks and inputs from these
organizations on drafting the Green Credit Guideline for Sichuan’s Steel and Iron
sector. Several commercial banks lending to the sector have been coordinated and
their needs will be consulted. The consultation involves visits and interviews.
Sustainable Financing News In China
Series of New Financial Regulations Launched to Curb Industrial
Overcapacity
On 22nd December, 2009, the People’s Bank of China (China’s central bank) has For more details,
partnered with CBRC, CSRC and CIRC to promulgate a series of financial please click here
regulatory rules to restrict financing to certain sectors with long-standing (Chinese only)
overcapacity issues. The new policies will encourage financial institutions to
invest in green technology and sustainable projects, while containing the
overcapacity in certain sectors, which are also seen as high polluting and high
emission sectors.
Industrial Bank Disburses China’s First Project Loan Applying the
Equator Principles
After one year of adoption the Equator Principles, Industrial Bank, the first For more details,
Equator Bank in China, disbursed the first project loan applying the Equator please click here.
Principles in China in Dec 2009.
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9. Banking Sector “Should Play Positive Role in Promoting Low Carbon
Economy”, Says the Chairman of CBRC
For more details,
In his speech at China Finance Forum on 24 Dec, 2009, Mr. Liu Mingkang, the please visit Chinese
Chairman of CBRC requested the banking sector to become the creator of government Portal
low-carbon financial services to support the industrial restructuring and to (Chinese only).
provide assistance to energy saving and emission reduction projects, which
enables to guide the country to grow toward a low carbon economy.
Environmental Regulators Cooperates with Commercial Banks to
Implement the Green Credit Policy in Guangxi
For more details,
The Environmental Protection Department of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous please click here
Region signed cooperative memorandum with Beibuwan Bank on implementing (Chinese only).
the Green Credit Policy on 17 December. According to the agreement, the Bank
will not provide loans to any clients unless the borrowers provide clean
environmental records, cleared by the regional environmental authorities.
Guangdong Environmental Regulators to Share Enterprises’
Environmental Performance Ratings to Financial Institutions
Guangdong Provincial Environmental Protection Department promulgated a new For more details,
please click here
policy to rate enterprises’ environmental performance which is regularly shared (Chinese only)
with banks and securities companies. It imposes punishments to environment
violators such as restricting from IPO and accessing to bank loans.
China to Take Three Measures to Control Over-expansion in Industries
with Overcapacity
1st March, 2010, The 13th Session of the Standing Committee of the Eleventh For more details,
National People’s Congress decides to take measures to refrain over-expansion in please click here
(Chinese only):
certain industries with overcapacity problems. NDRC will be leading the
implementation through 1)Tightening market entry; 2) Coordinating industrial
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10. development policies with other policies such as finance, environment, land and
financing; 3) Strengthening information guidance.
Sustainable Financing News In UK
Carbon Trust Increases Maximum Loan for Energy-saving Projects
December 2009--UK businesses planning to invest in energy-efficient plant or
For more details,
machinery could be eligible for an interest-free loan up to 500,000 pounds. please click here
Carbon Trust is a UK government-holded investment company dedicated to
supporting energy saving and emission reduction projects.
UK’s Central Bank Urged to Give Climate Scientist a Warm Welcome
December, 2009--The UK government's former chief scientific adviser calls for a For more details,
climate scientist to be given a seat on the Bank of England's monetary policy please click here.
committee, saying the bank currently operates without regard for the
environment.
UK investors join with politicians for mandatory GHG reporting call
January, 2010--A group of UK institutional investors and corporations has joined For more details,
with over 50 UK Members of Parliament (MPs), to write to Lord Mandelson, please click here.
Secretary of State for Business, calling for greenhouse gas (GHG) reporting to be
made mandatory for all large UK organisations as soon as possible.
Coming Up Soon
The Mid-term review for the project will be conducted in early April.
The structure of the green credit guideline for steel and iron industry at
national level and provincial level to be drafted by March
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