Bank of Jiangsu has become the first lender in China to launch a carbon neutrality campaign as part of efforts to expand green financing.
The regional lender has just officially launched its “Carbon Neutrality Action Plan” (碳中和行动方案), which outlines a “climate finance special support quota” of no less than 200 billion yuan for the 14th Five Year Plan (2021 – 2025), and a “clean energy industry support quota” of no less than 50 billion yuan.
Bank of Jiangsu expects that the funds will achieve carbon emissions reductions of over 10 million tonnes by supporting pollution reduction, clean energy, clean transit, and zero-carbon buildings.
The provincial lender also plans to achieve at least 20% growth in green loans in 2021, and growth in clean energy loans of no less than 50%.
The move from Bank of Jiangsu comes just as other Chinese banks rush to expand their green finance offerings following a push to drive growth in the sector from Beijing. China Development Bank and Industrial Bank Co., for example have both already backed carbon neutrality bonds.
In 2020 the Chinese government set the targets of achieving peak carbon by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060.
The Chinese central bank has also made green financing a “key work mission” for 2021, as well as the 14th Five Year Period that runs from 2021 to 2025.
