Financing picking up speed amid carbon control efforts

Local governments, in the meantime, may need to develop customized roadmaps to achieve carbon neutrality, and they should be encouraged to take the lead in achieving this goal, Ma said.

More financial institutions in China should also disclose environment-related information, he added.

Globally, only China and the European Union have so far set up clarified standards of classification for green finance, and the China-EU Shared Classification Catalogue for Green Finance is expected to be completed this summer, said Zhu Jun, director-general of the PBOC's International Department, during a virtual seminar of China Finance 40 Forum on Jan 31.

China and the EU are approaching the unified standards, and some economies are awaiting results, which indicates that the two sides have jointly come to the forefront of the world in this regard, Zhu said. If this work can be completed on time, the world will see the first set of international standards for green finance in July.

Tianneng Co, a lithium battery producer in Huzhou, a green finance pilot city in Zhejiang province, raised about 4.87 billion yuan from its listing on the Science and Technology Innovation Board of the Shanghai bourse on Jan 18. It then became the first company in this sector to issue both A and H shares.

The funds, as the firm's Chairman of the Board Zhang Tianren said, will be injected into projects including green intelligent manufacturing technology transformation, high-energy power lithium battery cells and some projects to improve the innovation capacity of national technology centers.

As a company shifting to a "green development" model and away from producing traditional batteries, Tianneng is supported by preferential financial policies introduced by the central bank and the local government in Huzhou, which leverages lower-cost equity and debt financing instruments to expand production lines, according to Chang Qing, vice-president and chief financial officer of Tianneng Co.

Tianneng Co is not the only example. Several miles away in Huzhou is Zhejiang Dadongwu Construction Science & Technology Co, a developer of steel structures and fabricated buildings, which uses new environment friendly materials.

A branch of Shanghai Pudong Development Bank has issued 150 million yuan of loans for specifically supporting construction of a green building integrated industrial base. China Zheshang Bank and Industrial Bank's Huzhou branch had jointly issued 460 million yuan of loans to the company as of November.

By 2020, China's outstanding green loans exceeded 11 trillion yuan, ranking top globally, while outstanding green bonds stood at more than 1 trillion yuan, the world's second highest, according to the central bank.

"China's green-finance market continues to grow, supported by government policies and initiatives, with banks playing a dominant role. Domestic and foreign investors will drive standardization and environment, social and governance integration in onshore greenbond markets," said Jia Jingwei, a sustainable finance analyst at Fitch Ratings, a global credit ratings agency.