The Forum invited Mr Christopher Hui, GBS, JP, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the HKSAR Government, and Mr Zhao Yingmin, President of the BRI International Green Development Coalition and Former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, to be the officiating guest and special guest.
Opening Forum: Kick-off of Hong Kong Registration – Green Commodities
The Forum brought together leaders, experts and academics from international organisations, foreign consulate and EU Office in Hong Kong, government departments and various industries to explore collective responses to global climate risks and opportunities for sustainable development.
The Opening Forum was themed "Promoting Green Commodity Trading and Sustainable Financing Along the Belt and Road". To join hands with different sectors to shape a green commodity trading ecosystem to support government policies, the kick-off ceremony of Hong Kong Registration – Green Commodities was held at the Forum. The ceremony was participated by Mr Christopher Hui, GBS, JP, Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the HKSAR Government; Mr P C Chan, Chief Executive Officer of HKQAA; and senior management representatives from enterprises and associations of the industry of green commodities that support the scheme.
Other guest speakers at the Opening Forum included Mr Paul Chow, Group General Counsel and Group Chief Sustainability Officer of HKEX; Mr Stephen Chan, Deputy Chief Executive of Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, Acting Chairman of the Hong Kong Association of Banks; and Mr Tan Kun, Deputy General Manager, Marketing and Customer Service Department, Shenzhen Power Supply Bureau of China Southern Power Grid.
Keynote Luncheon: Fostering the development of Belt and Road Standards; sharing research on climate resilience of buildings and ESG investment value
The theme of the Keynote Luncheon was "Fostering Green Exchange and Cooperation under the Belt and Road Initiative, Advancing Green Commodity Trading, Climate Resilience and ESG Disclosure". Mr Zhao Yingmin, President of the BRI International Green Development Coalition and Former Vice Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment was the special guest.
Prof Simon Wong Ka Wo, BBS, JP, Chairman of HKQAA, said in his speech, "HKQAA will actively support the BRI International Green Development Coalition to engage organisations in Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland in advancing the development of Belt and Road Standards that support green development across Belt and Road countries, with an initial focus on green hydrogen, green computing tokens, and zero-waste and waste-circularity practices. Both parties will also explore initiatives to facilitate the issuance of green finance instruments in Hong Kong for green projects in these countries, while contributing their respective expertise and networks to the development of a green commodities trading ecosystem in Hong Kong, in alignment with the National 15th Five-Year Plan."
HKQAA is also actively responding to the strategic direction of nurturing hydrogen energy as a key future industry under the National 15th Five-Year Plan. In August this year, HKQAA was appointed by the Electrical and Mechanical Services Department for the development of Hong Kong's green hydrogen standard and certification scheme. This will promote the alignment of hydrogen standards across markets, supporting the global expansion of the Chinese hydrogen industry. It will also help facilitate connectivity with green finance and satisfy international green capital requirement.
The Forum has once again invited Dr Bertrand Piccard, Chairman of Climate Impulse and President of the Solar Impulse Foundation, to be a featured keynote speaker. His newly developed green-hydrogen-powered aircraft is scheduled to undergo endurance test flights in 2027, marking a new milestone in the future development of the hydrogen energy industry and the green economy, which closely aligns with the theme of the Forum.
Dr Piccard shared insight from hydrogen-powered flight for clean energy innovation and green commodity market through video. He said in his speech, "I know very well that the HKQAA is deeply involved in sustainability and green commodities trading. Hydrogen, I believe, will become part of it... and, we need to harness our pioneering spirit to achieve the impossible. That's my passion. I hope it's yours."
HKQAA has collaborated closely with stakeholders from different sectors in research work. In recent months, we have collaborated with Taiping Reinsurance Co. Ltd on the "Research Project on Climate Resilience and Insurance Risk Quantification Standard for Buildings in Hong Kong". We have also kick-started with the China International Capital Corporation Limited to conduct a research project on ESG and the investment value of enterprises. Mr Michael Fung, General Manager, Analytics Centre of Taiping Reinsurance Co. Ltd, and Mr Chen Ji, Managing Director, Head of the Green Economy Team of CICC Global Institute, shared the preliminary findings of the two research projects respectively at the Keynote Luncheon.
Other guest speakers at the session included Mr Zhang Jun, Vice Chairman, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited.
Moreover, some of the locally grown food ingredients served at the Keynote Luncheon were sponsored by the Vegetable Marketing Organization, thereby supporting and promoting the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department's Hong Kong Harvest Scheme. HKQAA is honoured to serve as the Certification Organisation for the Scheme, establishing a certification and traceability mechanism for local agricultural and fisheries products.
Thematic Forum: Co-hosted with APLMA; promoting application of the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance
The Thematic Forum in the afternoon, themed "Advancing ESG Disclosure Ecosystem, Fostering Wider Adoption of Sustainable Financial Instruments", was co-hosted by HKQAA and Asia Pacific Loan Market Association. Mr Philip Kam, Chief Executive Officer of Asia Pacific Loan Market Association, delivered the keynote remarks, and Mr Ronald Young, Head of Sustainable Banking Development of Hong Kong Monetary Authority, shared on the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance.
Afterwards, Dr Nigel Croft, Chair, ISO Joint Technical Coordination Group for Management System Standards (2020 – 2023), Member of ISO Strategic Advisory Group on ESG (2021 – 2023), and Mr K T Ting, Chief Operating Officer of HKQAA, introduced the HKQAA Taxonomy-based KPI & SPT Toolkit. The Toolkit is a sector-based KPI library and SPT setting guide for applying the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance to sustainability-linked loans and bonds, with the aim of fostering a climate-resilient financial system and strengthening Hong Kong's green finance ecosystem. After the sharing session, the kick-off ceremony of the HKQAA Taxonomy-based KPI & SPT Toolkit was held.
Other guest speakers at the Thematic Forum included Ms Phyllis Ng, Assistant General Manager and Head of Loan Syndicate of Global Banking & Capital Market Division of China Construction Bank (Asia) Corporation Limited; and Ms Jennifer Zhou, Head of Transition Finance and Advisory, GCNA, Standard Chartered Bank.
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