As Hong Kong continues its journey toward becoming a leading sustainable finance hub in Asia, the need for skilled professionals has never been more critical.
The Earth Forum 2025, held recently on Earth Day (April 22), convened a panel of industry leaders, regulators and practitioners to discuss the crucial role of capacity building in advancing sustainable finance markets – highlighting both the progress made and the challenges ahead.
Building Human Capital for Sustainable Banking
Whenever Hong Kong’s de facto central bank rolls out a new sustainable banking policy, a capacity building campaign follows to ensure the market and its participants can adapt and operate effectively, said Ronald Young, Head of Sustainable Banking Development at the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA). He was speaking at the Earth Forum 2025 panel, “The Role of Capacity Building in Advancing Sustainable Finance Markets”.
“An institution consists of people, and people’s capacity is key for the success of any bank’s management of transition risks and opportunities,” he said.
Recognising the importance of building capacity for the banking industry, the HKMA launched the core level of its Enhanced Competency Framework for Green and Sustainable Finance (ECF-GSF) back in July of 2023, expanding to a professional level in November 2024. Under the ECF-GSF, nearly 2,000 professionals have already earned certification in areas such as climate risk management, sustainable finance products and servicing, and sustainability strategy, Young said.
Reliable, Comparable Data: Meeting Investor Demands
Reliable and comparable information from companies is also of paramount importance to enable investors to make informed decisions, according to Elaine Ng, Associate Director of International Affairs and Sustainable Finance at the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC), also speaking on the same panel.
“The challenges that we are seeing in terms of putting out reliable, consistent and useful disclosure, is really being able to put a sustainability lens on all of the things that a business is doing,” said Ng. “Mainstreaming sustainability [and] climate considerations into every part of your business…is super important.”
Ng highlighted the challenge of aggregating data across international supply chains and pointed to technology – especially artificial intelligence (AI) – as a critical enabler for trustworthy disclosures.
Bridging Knowledge and Practice
Technical knowledge must also go hand in hand with practical expertise, according to Dr. Valeria Fauner, Director of Training and Certification at The European Federation of Financial Analysts Societies (EFFAS), contributing to the same panel.
EFFAS’s programmes, such as the Certified ESG Analyst (CESGA) and the newly announced EFFAS Climate Risk Analyst (ECRA), equip professionals to combat greenwashing and apply sustainability insights to real-world scenarios.
“Sustainability literacy must become a core competency, not a niche skill,” she asserted. By integrating regulatory standards like the ISSB and EU’s CSRD into training, EFFAS ensures professionals stay ahead of evolving requirements.
Moving Beyond the ESG Binary
The asset management industry needs to focus more on understanding what ESG means for both themselves and their investors, according to Sam Yu, Chairman of the Hong Kong Investment Funds Association (HKIFA), also on the panel.
“The biggest step is to move away from the binary thinking about what ESG is and isn’t, and focus on when it is used for value versus values,” said Yu. “It’s very important for people to understand and to have a comprehensive picture of what ESG means for them and for their next generation.”
Insurers & Climate Risk: A Data Dilemma
A candid perspective on the insurance industry’s climate risk challenge was shared by Luke Liang, Senior Manager of the Policy and Legislation Division at the Insurance Authority (IA), during the panel.
Despite their role as risk managers, insurers face “a lack of robust and forward-looking data,” as traditional models often rely on historical data that cannot adequately address the unpredictability and rising severity of climate events, said Liang.
Effectively assessing and managing climate risk will require professional development to narrow the skills gap, but also enhance governance and industry collaboration, according to Liang.
“Targeted professional development is supportive for all levels in an organization, but I would say it’s particularly critical for the board and senior management, because they are the ones to determine the strategy,” said Liang.
As the Earth Forum 2025 panel on The Role of Capacity Building in Advancing Sustainable Finance Markets made clear, Hong Kong’s sustainable finance ambitions will be realised not just through policy – but through people: their skills, adaptability, and drive to learn. Capacity building is both the sector’s greatest challenge and its best opportunity to lead Asia toward a resilient, low-carbon future.
This article is written by a holder of the EFFAS Certified Environmental, Social, and Governance Analyst (CESGA). CESGA is a globally recognised qualification whose prominence continues to grow worldwide. CESGA has recently achieved a significant milestone as the first programme accredited by European standard setter EFRAG for compliance with the ESRS sustainability disclosure requirements in the EU (mandatory from 2025). For enrolment details, please visit https://bit.ly/40chuOR .
