氣候變化與陸地……綠色農業需要綠色金融的支持 / Climate Change and Land .. Greener Farming Calls for Greener Finance

Alexandra Tracy, 香港地球之友綠色金融顧問 / Green Finance Advisor of Friends of the Earth (HK)

政府間氣候變化專門委員會（IPCC）本月發布的「氣候變化與陸地特別報告」把焦點放在我們如何使用（往往是濫用）自然資源上。

根據IPCC的數據，全球農業、森林砍伐和土地轉換產生的氣候變化影響佔溫室氣體總排放量近25%。大陸板塊為天然碳匯，但開伐森林、農業和可觀察到的天氣因素意味著它們的二氧化碳吸收能力可能會大幅降低。

正當我們需要保護地球上自然環境的同時，不斷增長的全球人口急需更多的土地賴以生存。大多數政府於二十一世紀面臨的最大挑戰之一，是要同時在政策上平衡兼顧供養人民需求以及應對氣候變化的迫切性。

事實上，有些行動能有效地幫助解決以上急切的需求。減少森林砍伐以及重建退化的生態系統可能是最重要的行動，尤其亞馬遜目前的情況已令人沮喪。幾乎同樣緊迫的是，必須在整個食物供應鏈中減少浪費，原來由農場到超級市場有超過四分之一的食物被浪費了，食物生產過程實在有需要變得更具可持續性。

世界資源研究所最近發表一份名為「創建可持續糧食未來」的報告，指出技術創新所提供的機會和農業實踐變革，足以在2050年前養活近100億人口，同時又能達到氣候減碳目標。而這將涉及提高農業生產力、管理需求和減少浪費（不單是放棄肉類），以及減少生產鏈中產生的溫室氣體排放。與此同時，保護自然生態系統和人工造林將非常重要。

金融在綠色農業中能發揮甚麼作用？

綠色金融世界的最新發展為綠色及可持續性貸款，貸款甚至其產生的利息回報，成就借貸雙方層面攜手實現可持續性表現目標。綠色債券則有所不同，籌集到的資金可用於一般企業用途，而不僅僅是特定的綠色項目，但借款人必須每年量化並報告其環境或可持續性收益。

農業生產商與商品交易商是加入綠色貸款結構的先導者之一。Danone、Louis Dreyfus和歐洲的Gunvor集團等國際企業，及後來才加入的一些亞洲主要企業，都希望通過綠色貸款，盡力達到以更可持續的方式進行生產並帶來更便宜的資本成本。

2017年，新加坡控股公司豐益國際與荷蘭銀行ING達成了1.5億美元的綠色貸款共識，是棕櫚油行業中的第一宗此類交易。一家重要的區域性商品交易商Olam International立即跟隨，，很快便進行了亞洲首宗可持續發展表現掛鉤貸款，15家銀行共同向該公司提供資金。

而最近，於今年7月，中國最大的食品貿易公司中糧集團簽署21億美元貸款，成為中國第一宗以及全球商品交易商中最大的一宗可持續貸款。利率將與包括供應鏈透明度在內的指標掛鉤，以確保貸款不會涉及森林砍伐。

談到這宗貸款對公司業務的影響，中糧集團國際首席財務官吴竞認為，「未來農產品的交易需求只能透過可持續性採購才得以實現」。綠色金融對於可持續發展的明確表現，將有助改變農業部門，並確保綠色金融能在我們的長遠未來中發揮作用。

“Climate Change and Land”, published by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) this month, puts the focus clearly on how we use – and often misuse – natural resources.

The climate change impact of agriculture, deforestation and land conversion around the world accounts for nearly 25 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, according to the IPCC.  Land masses are natural carbon sinks, but deforestation, agriculture and observable weather factors mean that their carbon dioxide absorption capacity may be significantly reduced.

While the world needs to maintain its natural environment, the growing global population needs ever more land to feed itself.  Managing the policy trade offs between feeding the people, on the one hand, and addressing the urgency of climate change, on the other, is becoming one of the greatest challenges for governments in the twenty first century.

But there are actions that could help to meet that imperative.  Reducing deforestation, together with action to regenerate degraded ecosystems, is perhaps the most important – the current situation in the Amazon is a cause for dismay.  Almost as pressing, however, is the need to reduce food waste along the entire supply chain, from the farm gate to the supermarket: over a quarter of food produced is not consumed.  And the production of food itself needs to become more sustainable.

A recent report from the World Resources Institute, “Creating a Sustainable Food Future”, highlights opportunities for technological innovation and changes in farming practice that could feed nearly 10 billion people by the year 2050 – while also meeting climate goals.  This would involve raising agricultural productivity, managing demand and reducing waste (not just giving up meat) and reducing greenhouse gas emissions generated in the production chain.  At the same time, natural ecosystems protection and reforestation will be essential.

What role can finance play in greening agriculture ?

The new stars of the green finance world are green and sustainability loans, which link the interest rate payable to meeting sustainability performance targets.  Unlike green bonds, the money raised can be used for general corporate purposes, not just specific green projects, but the borrower must quantify and report its environmental or sustainability benefits each year.

Agricultural producers and commodity traders have been some of the first movers in signing up to green loan structures.  Global players such as Danone, Louis Dreyfus and Gunvor Group in Europe have latterly been joined by major players in Asia, looking to leverage their efforts to produce more sustainably into a cheaper cost of capital.

In 2017, Wilmar International in Singapore agreed a US$150 million green loan with Dutch bank ING, which was the first deal of its kind in the palm oil industry.  Olam International, a substantial regional commodities trader, soon followed with Asia’s first sustainability linked club loan (in which fifteen banks jointly extended funds to the company).

Most recently, in July this year, Cofco International, the trading division of China’s biggest food company, has agreed a US$2.1 billion facility, which is the first sustainability loan in China and the largest to a commodity trader.  Interest rates will be linked to targets which include transparency in the supply chain to ensure that it is not contributing to deforestation.

Speaking about impact of the loan on the company’s business, Jing Wu, chief financial officer at Cofco International, argued that “future demand of agri commodities can only be met by sustainable sourcing”.  Green finance, coupled with clear performance on sustainability, will help to transform the agricultural sector and ensure it plays its part in our long term future.