China's outstanding green loans, bonds among the top globally: central bank

BEIJING - China has put in place a multi-tiered green finance market system, with outstanding green loans and bonds both ranking among the top globally, according to the country's central bank.

As of the end of the first quarter, the country's outstanding green loans in yuan and foreign currencies exceeded 25 trillion yuan ($3.52 trillion), while its outstanding green bonds surpassed 1.5 trillion yuan, data from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) showed.

Yi Gang, governor of the bank, stressed the important role of green finance, saying that the country's carbon peaking and neutrality goals will bring about changes in every aspect, including energy structure and people's way of living.

In recent years, the PBOC has doubled down efforts to develop green finance, and those measures have produced positive results, Yi added.

The central bank has specified environment information disclosure requirements for financial institutions, rolled out tools for credit-reduction and the clean and efficient use of coal, and built up the climate risk management capacities of financial institutions, said Yi.

By the end of April 2023, China's carbon-reduction credit facility had financed carbon-emission cuts of more than 150 million tonnes, PBOC data revealed.