On 18 October 2017, the 19th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party will convene, after the week-long National Day holiday, marking one of the most important dates on the Chinese political calendar. Among the issues...more
China’s State Council released an “Opinion Concerning Establishment of a Long-Term Mechanism for Early-Warning and Monitoring of Environmental and Natural Resources Carrying Capacity,” which will halt major projects in...more
Addressing a car forum in Tianjin, Xin Guobin, Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology, announced that the Chinese government is developing plans to follow in the footsteps of some European countries to phase out...more
Market research has long recognized China as the largest investor in its own domestic renewable energy industry. According to Bloomberg New Energy Finance, China invested US$102 billion in 2015 alone....more
Chinese policymakers have indicated that the country’s Emissions Trading System (ETS) — which will be the largest system of its kind globally and the centerpiece of Chinese climate change policy — is likely to launch in...more
In reforming and updating its environmental laws, China has until recently been focusing on air pollution. Attention is now turning to addressing water and soil pollution as well....more
On June 1, 2017, President Trump announced during a speech at the White House that the United States will withdraw from the Paris Agreement, fulfilling a campaign pledge to end the agreement that the President argued would...more
As a world leader in the manufacturing of electronic devices, China is beginning to reform its rules and regulations to ensure that the resulting framework is able to keep pace with the rapid developments now taking place in...more
Leaders from around the world, including 20 heads of state, attended the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing on March 14-15. The attendees at the forum agreed on guiding principles for the initiative,...more
Earlier this month, during a round of surprise inspections, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Environmental Protection Zhao Yangmin publicly shamed the city officials of Langfang, a city in Hebei province, for failing to...more
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) released new guidelines (the Guidelines) on the issuance of green bonds on March 2, 2017, marking an important step in the development of what is now that world’s largest...more
China’s National Development and Reform Commissions (NDRC) – the country’s chief economic planning body – announced that a “green certificates” program for solar and wind power will be launched beginning on July 1, 2017. The...more
Climate change has become a key concern for China in recent years, as evidenced by its pledge to reduce carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 60% from 2015 levels by 2030. As we have previously written, it has also become a...more
The Supreme People’s Court (SPC), China’s highest judicial body, issued a judicial interpretation on December 26, 2016 which defines 18 types of environmental crimes as “serious environmental pollution” and identifies 13...more
China’s State Council released its “Plan for Controlling the Implementation of the Pollution Discharge Permit System,” (the Plan), which establishes guidelines and policy goals for the pollution permitting system being...more
The Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, Jonathan Taylor called for “a renewed effort from the world’s financial institutions to make the Paris Agreement a reality” at the COP 22 Conference, held last month in...more
In April 2015, the Final Report of the People’s Bank of China’s Green Finance Task Force made 14 recommendations to facilitate the establishment of China’s green finance system. Recommendation 13 proposed the imposition of...more
Prior to the G20 Leaders’ Summit on 4 September, China and the US ratified the Paris Climate Agreement during a ceremony in Hangzhou, China. This commitment from the world’s largest carbon dioxide emitters is expected to...more
Now in its eleventh year, The G20 Summit heads to the city of Hangzhou, China – the first time a G20 summit has been held for heads of state in China. As this years’ destination, China is maximising its role as the host...more
According to a recent report released by Clean Energy Pipeline, global clean energy backing in the first half of 2016 totalled US$116.4 billion. China was the largest investor, financing US$15.3 billion worth of solar and...more
China has become the world’s largest green bond market, with green bonds issued in the first half of 2016 reaching 75 billion yuan (US$11 billion), 33% of the world total. This figure is approximately two percent of the total...more
On 28 May, the State Council, China’s highest administrative body, released the Action Plan on Prevention and Control of Soil Pollution (currently available only in Chinese) to address one of the nation’s most difficult and...more
At the China-US Climate-Smart / Low Carbon Cities Summit held in Beijing on June 7 and 8, 2016 the world’s two largest carbon dioxide emitters announced expanded co-operation in their efforts to counter climate...more
In advance of the first ever G20 summit to be hosted in China this year, the Shanghai Environmental Protection Bureau issued a revised, short-term air quality plan to improve local air conditions ahead of the summit. China...more
Green bonds, which tie the proceeds of the issuance to investments that have positive environmental and/or climate benefits, are a rapidly growing asset class. Recent figures have corroborated the narrative of growth...more