Call for Hong Kong to establish ‘Carbon Trading Center for Asia’

Special: 2022 Two Sessions

(ECNS) — A “Carbon Trading Center for Asia” should be established in Hong Kong to help develop green finance, Chen Qingxia member of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, suggested in an interview with China News Service on Saturday.

By establishing the “Carbon Trading Center for Asia” in Hong Kong, the region’s high-degree internationalization advantage can be fully utilized, said Chen Qingxia, also honorary president of HKCPPCC Members Association.

The carbon economy system in the Great Bay Area needs to be built via in-depth cooperation with China’s Guangdong Province to better address China’s “dual carbon” goals — carbon peaking and carbon neutrality, Chen suggested.

It is highly possible to establish and improve the carbon economic system in the Greater Bay Area by taking advantage of favorable conditions, Chen said.

Investors attracted to the Great Bay Area will help China achieve its “Carbon neutrality” goal, Chen noted.

According to the South China Morning Post, similar sentiments have bee previously raised (September 2021) by Joseph Chan Ho-lim, the Under Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury for the HK SAR, who said that China’s drive to become carbon neutral by 2060 will provide Hong Kong with huge opportunities to develop into a green finance hub and regional carbon trading centre.

Chen, a former banker, said that the HK government has been working with local financial regulators and the mainland Chinese authorities to assess the feasibility and policy support required for developing the city as a carbon trading centre for the Greater Bay Area and Asia as a whole. A working group formed by watchdogs such as the Securities and Futures Commission and Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing will finish a report in December on how to achieve such a goal.

“International carbon markets are expected to grow significantly as the mainland and other key overseas markets are dedicated to transitioning to a green, low-emission and climate-resilient economy,” Chen told lawmakers on the monthly Financial Affairs Panel on Monday.

Sources:

Ecns.cn, 2022-03-06. http://www.ecns.cn/news/cns-wire/2022-03-06/detail-ihawiaxw7020110.shtml

South China Morning Post, 21 Sept 2021. https://www.scmp.com/business/banking-finance/article/3147730/chinas-climate-goals-are-opportunity-hong-kong-develop