Investment to boost China's climate-smart growth

BEIJING -- China has embarked on a climate-friendly growth path and increased finance will help boost the market, global climate change authorities said on Monday in Beijing.

China is expected to reveal long-term policies and raise social awareness on climate change, Mark Kenber, Climate Group CEO, said at the launch ceremony of the China Climate Finance Research Project.

The project is jointly set up by the Climate Group, China's National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation, and China Clean Development Mechanism Fund.

"Investment in climate change is good business. China is already grasping the chance," Kenber said.

The project aims to help make the allocation of capital more efficient by providing updated research using innovative policy tools.

"On its climate-growth path, China has contributed a lot of efforts and capital on energy saving and the emission reduction sector," said Chen Huan, director with the CDMFUND, which is under the Ministry of Finance.

China has pledged in its 12th Five-Year Plan to cut energy consumption per unit of GDP by 16 percent while slashing carbon emissions by 17 percent by 2015.

The country's market in the climate sector is estimated to reach the trillion-yuan-level.

Chen said, "We expect to bridge the government's policy funds with financial institutions and enterprises to drive private capital flows into climate-smart sectors."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on October 23 in Copenhagen of Denmark called on the international community to raise their ambitions to help with green growth. It will require innovation, investment and collaboration by all partners, he said.

"Achieving a clean energy transformation will need the combined efforts of governments, multilateral investment banks, private finance, civil society, the knowledge community and the private sector," Ban said.