On August 10, 2022, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the National Development and Reform Commission, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, the People's Bank of China, the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the State Administration Bureau, the Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and the Securities Regulatory Commission jointly announced the list of 23 climate investment and financing pilot cities. Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, as the only candidate city in Zhejiang Province, was successfully selected.
Starting in May 2020, over a period of nearly two years, departments such as the Lishui Ecological Environment Bureau and the Lishui Bank Insurance Regulatory Branch have devoted themselves to the planning and application of climate investment and financing pilot projects. Together with Hangzhou Chaoteng Energy Technology Co., Ltd., they have completed the "Lishui Climate Investment and Financing Work Plan" and "Lishui Climate Investment and Financing Implementation Plan" with Lishui characteristics, providing various technical support for their application work, After being approved by the provincial and municipal people's governments, it will be reported to the Ministry of Ecological Environment.
Lishui Ecological Environment Bureau and Hangzhou Chaoteng Energy Technology Co., Ltd. Report on Lishui Climate Investment and Financing
In April 2022, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the National Development and Reform Commission, and other nine national ministries and commissions organized a national climate investment and financing pilot review meeting to conduct an online expert review of the pilot application plan for Lishui City, and Lishui passed the review at one time. In August 2022, it was officially implemented after being approved by 9 national ministries and commissions.
Climate investment and financing refers to investment and financing activities that guide and promote more funds to address climate change in order to achieve national independent contribution goals and low-carbon development goals. It is an important means to promote green, low-carbon, high-quality development, and ensure carbon peak and carbon neutral capital needs.
According to estimates by relevant domestic institutions, the financial demand for achieving carbon peak in China between 2021-2030 is about 14-22 trillion yuan, while the financial demand for achieving carbon neutrality from 2030 to 2060 is at the level of one million billion yuan. Investment and financing, as a key driving force, play an irreplaceable and important role in solving prominent issues that restrict the implementation of China's "dual carbon" goals and tasks due to the contradiction between supply and demand of climate funds.
It is reported that Lishui City, Zhejiang Province, has been able to stand out among many cities participating in the evaluation due to its high emphasis on climate investment and financing work, and has proposed work plans related to climate investment and financing in a number of policy documents. For example, Lishui has taken the lead in tackling climate change. From 2010 to 2020, the city's net greenhouse gas emissions have been negative for 8 years, showing a "carbon neutral" trend. Hangzhou Chaoteng Energy Technology Co., Ltd. has completed the preparation and filing of the province's first local carbon sequestration methodology - "Lishui City, Zhejiang Province Forest Management Carbon Sink Inclusive Methodology", and established the first municipal forest carbon sequestration administrative management institution in China. The first batch of urban greenhouse gas monitoring pilot projects in China were launched, and the experience of national climate adaptive city construction pilot projects was presented at the 2021 Joint Seminar on Climate Change Adaptation jointly sponsored by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development, and the Asian Development Bank, which received high praise from participating leaders and experts.