【Green Finance and the Energy Transition Series】Financing the Energy Transition: Insights from the World Energy Outlook

Green Finance Engagement Team

Global clean energy investments must more than double to US$4.5 trillion annually by 2030 to meet climate goals. This new series explores how green finance can drive this transition, examining investment gaps, regional disparities, and solutions for a sustainable future.

The global energy transition is one of the most significant challenges—and opportunities—of our time. As countries strive to meet climate goals, the need to shift away from fossil fuels toward clean and sustainable energy systems has never been more urgent.

But this transition comes with a price tag: meeting global energy and climate targets will require unprecedented investment.

Drawing from the International Energy Agency’s flagship World Energy Outlook and related research, the first post in this blog series introduces the investment landscape of energy transition and sets the stage for exploring how green finance can drive progress in renewable energy, energy efficiency, and electrification.

What This Series Will Cover

In this blog series, we’ll explore how green finance can address the most pressing challenges of the energy transition, including:

  • Closing the investment gap in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs)
  • Scaling renewable energy deployment and modernising energy infrastructure
  • Financing energy efficiency improvements and electrification
  • Supporting emerging technologies like clean hydrogen and carbon capture
  • Ensuring a just and equitable transition that leaves no one behind

The Energy Transition in Numbers

Global energy transition investment reached a record US$2.1 trillion in 2024, driven by electrified transport, renewable energy, and power grids, according to BNEF’s Energy Transition Investment Trends 2025 report released at the end of January.

However, to align with the Net Zero Emissions by 2050 (NZE) pathway, annual global clean energy investments need to reach US$4.5 trillion by 2030, according to the World Energy Outlook.

Investment in emerging technologies like hydrogen and carbon capture fell by 23 per cent year-on-year to US$155 billion in 2024, highlighting the need for more public and private sector collaboration to de-risk these sectors, according to the BNEF report

Regional disparities also remain in terms of energy transition investments. China accounted for US$818 billion of global energy transition investment last year, while the US and EU saw stagnant or declining investment levels of US$338 billion and US$381 billion respectively. This underscores the need for more equitable distribution of resources to support global decarbonisation efforts.

Key Takeaways:

  • Global clean energy investment must reach US$4.5 trillion annually by 2030
  • Current investment of US$2.1 trillion, while record-breaking, falls short
  • Regional disparities in investment need addressing for effective transition

A Call to Action

The energy transition is achievable, but the clock is ticking. Governments, financial institutions, and private investors must act decisively to mobilise the funding needed to build a sustainable future.

In our next post, we’ll dive into the regional disparities in clean energy investment and explore how green finance can address these inequities. Stay tuned as we continue this journey through the transformative power of green finance.

公營機構應逐步推行自願性ESG披露

[ESG分析師洞見分享] 劉兆光, CESGA

隨著全球對可持續發展的關注與日俱增,環境、社會及管治(ESG)在商業世界逐漸成為主流議題。企業不再僅僅以財務表現來評估成功,ESG已成為衡量其長期發展潛力的重要標準。然而,當我們把目光轉向香港的公營機構時,情況卻截然不同——ESG披露在這個領域明顯滯後,這難免讓市民對政府的可持續發展承諾產生疑問。

當我們提到ESG披露時,很多人可能會首先聯想到私人企業,因為他們需要吸引投資者、降低融資成本以及提升品牌形象。然而,ESG披露對公營機構的價值同樣顯著。透過ESG披露,公營機構的透明度和問責性能夠提升。ESG披露更能使政策制定更加科學、精準,而這些披露都將有利於公營機構的長遠發展,並增加市民的信任和支持。 舉個例子,英國政府要求所有部門,無論內閣部門或非內閣部門,均需根據「氣候相關財務揭露工作小組」(TCFD)的建議進行強制性氣候相關財務披露。這不僅提升了英國公共部門在應對氣候變化上的透明度,也鼓勵政府部門更加積極地減少碳排放,增強了其在推動可持續發展中的領頭作用。這種做法也讓公眾更清楚地了解政府在可持續發展領域的實際行動,從而提高了政策的接受度和認受性。

再說加拿大,自2008年開始施行《聯邦可持續發展法》(Federal Sustainable Development Act),並推出了《2022-2026聯邦可持續發展策略》(2022-2026 Federal Sustainable Development Strategy),要求所有聯邦機構每三年提交可持續發展戰略計劃,並發佈進度報告。這些報告涵蓋了減少溫室氣體排放、生物多樣性保護等多個目標,並且通過公開的數據披露,促進了政府部門間的合作與協同,確保可持續發展政策能夠有效落實。這種透明的披露機制不僅讓政府能夠更好地管理環境與社會風險,也為政策的制定提供了有力的數據支持。

或許有人會問,公營機構推行ESG披露究竟有什麼實際好處?事實上,ESG披露能夠為公營機構帶來的裨益,不僅僅體現在提升透明度和問責性上,更能夠為政府機構帶來經濟效益。根據最新的研究,企業在披露ESG數據後,通常會享有更高的股票估值和更低的資本成本,這就是所謂的「ESG披露溢價」(ESG Disclosure Premium)。雖然公營機構不像私營企業一樣依賴資本市場,但ESG披露溢價對公營機構的裨益體現在資源管理上,以及能夠降低政府在推行大型基建項目或發行政府債券時的資本成本。

香港金融管理局作為領頭機構,已展示出卓越的ESG管治實踐,就可持續發展相關工作建立了一套健全且具備清晰問責安排與高透明度的可持續發展管治架構。倘若香港政府能夠參考香港金融管理局的做法,並採納國際可持續準則理事會(ISSB)於2023年6月推出的IFRS S1和S2披露標準,這將顯著提高香港在全球市場的競爭力,並吸引更多重視可持續發展的國際資本。IFRS S1標準規範企業如何準備和報告與可持續相關的財務信息,涵蓋各類風險和機會;而IFRS S2則專注於氣候相關風險與機會的披露。當前投資者越來越關注氣候風險和社會責任,政府若能透過這些全球認可的ESG披露標準展示其在這些方面的承諾,將有助於降低募資成本,並吸引更多綠色資金投入到香港的未來發展項目。

筆者建議,政府可以從自願性披露開始,允許公營機構根據自身情況公開環境和社會數據。這一小步將為未來的強制性要求奠定基礎。此外,政府應該制定一個全面的ESG披露指導框架,為公營機構提供具體的披露標準,例如ISSB發布的IFRS S1和S2標準。這些框架應涵蓋如何量化環境影響、社會責任和管治實踐,並確保數據的可比性和可審計性。

正如英國央行前行長馬克.卡尼所指出的,「氣候變化是地平線上的悲劇(Tragedy of the Horizon)。我們不需要一群精算師告訴我們,氣候變化的災難性影響將超越大多數行動者的傳統視野,為未來世代帶來高昂的成本,而當前世代卻沒有直接動機去解決這個問題。」 這

凸顯了當前世代在應對氣候變化問題上的短板,並提醒各方必須採取果斷行動。隨著國家對綠色發展和碳中和戰略的高度重視,香港迎來了國際資本與綠色發展的重要歷史機遇。有見及此,逐步推行公營機構的ESG披露將有助於提升香港的管治水平,並促進更科學、明智的政策制定,從而推動香港在全球可持續發展格局中發揮更大的領頭作用。

本文早前亦於Capital HK 轉載

#本文章由 EFFAS 環境、社會及管治分析師 (CESGA) 所撰寫。CESGA在歐洲以及全球都具有高度認受性,全球報名人數持續上升。有志報讀的人士,請參閱:https://bit.ly/40chuOR

Feb 2025 Events on Green Finance / 2025年2月綠色金融活動一覽

Discover engaging green finance events this February 2025. Browse the calendar and register for events that align with your interests through the links below:

以上一圖看清2025年2月精彩的綠色金融活動!如欲參加及了解活動詳情,歡迎瀏覽以下網址:

6 Feb [1] GRESB Inside ESG: Trends in Investing in Sustainable Infrastructure in Emerging Markets | APAC

6 Feb [2] 2025 ESG Credit and Sustainable Finance Outlook (APAC Session)

10 Feb [3] The impact of the climate crisis on workers: what is the role of due diligence and transparent reporting?

17 Feb [4] ASIFMA Annual Conference 2025

20 Feb [5] NBS-PRI-ECGI Public Lecture Series on Sustainable Business – ESG Investing and the Green Transition

27 Feb [6] IPR Annual Climate Policy Forecast – Update

Nature, climate, adaptation: Investment opportunities and approaches

[Certified ESG Analyst Insights Sharing] Alexander Chan, CESGA

With the continued focus on the importance of biodiversity and natural ecosystem services on which many sectors and economies depend, one key question is how are nature and climate linked? In this piece we examine how these two themes intersect with a particular focus on adaptation as a connecting factor.

Nature 101: Global developments and challenges today

Figure 1 - Growing importance of nature’s impact on the economy

Source: Invesco Asia Pacific

Nature generally refers to natural world including land, ocean, freshwater and atmosphere that interacts with societies and economies, whether in providing ecosystem services to different sectors or being impacted by businesses. Globally, investors and companies are recognizing nature loss as a source of systemic risk for economies and financial markets. In September 2023, the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), a network of over 125 central banks and financial supervisors, encouraged all central banks to assess and act on financial risks from nature loss. More than half of world’s GDP is moderately or highly dependent on nature. However, implementing nature-related considerations in investments can be complex given challenges relating to:

  • Localized data: Importance of location-specific analysis of nature impact which requires granularity of data on location and characteristics of location in question.
  • Lack of aggregation: Nature-related metrics tend to be extremely context dependent and unlike climate there is a lack of singular aggregable metric that can be easily measured like emissions.
  • Sector specific: Financially material dependencies on nature vary by sector which also makes the comparison across sectors challenging.
  • Prioritization: State of disclosures on nature by companies are still in its infancy and with many companies focusing their attention on transition planning and understanding climate-related risks and opportunities, there might be a question on resourcing and prioritization across different sustainability themes.

Given the challenges laid out, investors need to identify a suitable starting point for implementing nature-related considerations into the investment process.

Linkages of climate and nature: highlights on adaptation

We believe a good starting point for investors looking at nature-related considerations is to identify the links between climate and nature. We identify 3 key links:

  • 1) Impact of nature-based solutions on climate change mitigation and emissions reduction: Nature-based solutions can provide up to 37% of the climate change mitigation required to meet the world’s 2030 climate targets. Historically, natural global sinks of land and ocean absorbed 59% of total emissions between 1850 and 2019.
  • 2) Nature-based solutions for climate adaptation: Nature-based solutions can help minimize potential physical risks and climate hazards. Coral and oyster reef systems can reduce coastal erosion, forests can soak up excess rainwater minimizing runoff and damage from flooding, and coastal wetlands can stabilize coastlines by trapping sediment and reducing wave height with dense vegetation. Overall, nature-based solutions are estimated to reduce the intensity of climate hazards by 26% which amounts to economic costs of about US $104 billion by 2030 and $393 billion by 2050.
  • 3) Nature’s dependencies on climate include:
    • Agrifood security: Climate variability could be a driver of growing global hunger with droughts with the potential to cause more than 80% of total damage and losses to agriculture
    • Water access and oceans: Heatwaves, flood and storms could impact freshwater ecosystems and affect water quality and availability. Warming and acidification also affect sea life and food webs in oceans. Like the agrifood impact, physical risks could affect the costs of goods, services and infrastructure. Disruptions to water access and sanitation risks are also tied to potential health risks and costs for certain populations and regions.
    • Deforestation and biodiversity: Global energy and climate transition has led to a growth in electric vehicles (EVs) as a climate solution. However, the growth of EV supply chains has also resulted in potential deforestation and biodiversity impacts. The growing demand for green transition materials such as nickel, cobalt and manganese can cause a corresponding mining impact on deforestation as well as on habitat loss, soil erosion, and diminishing biodiversity.

Investment opportunities and approaches for climate and nature

Figure 3 – Opportunities for investors at the intersection of climate and nature

Source: Invesco Asia Pacific

1] Investing in climate and nature solutions: Identifying solutions at the intersection of climate and nature. Fixed income is one effective way of investing into mission-driven businesses that are nature positive through analyzing the underlying use of proceeds; examples include:

  • Nature-based solutions: Restoration of coastal habitats through mangroves, salt marshes, coral and oyster reefs that helps with coastal protection and reduction in flood impacts while also increasing biodiversity as well as food security.
  • Agrifood: Solutions that help improve agrifood productivity and security such as cover cropping, bio-based fertilizers and low tillage
  • Water: Solutions like green drainage systems that reduce flooding impact while also increasing biodiversity

2] Climate and nature risk considerations: Considering nature-related financially material risks has to start with understanding what the risks are and the linkages to businesses. The TNFD’s LEAP (Locate, Evaluate, Assess, Prepare) tool provides a good starting framework for both corporates and investors, beginning with prioritizing locations where assets are based, evaluating ecosystem dependencies of these assets, and then assessing the potential risks and opportunities before formulating plans and initiatives in response.

3] Engagement and stewardship: Financially-material nature-related risks can then be fed as discussion items for engagement with investee holdings. Potential areas where investors can look to understand more include:

  • Companies’ approach, policies and governance to identify and analyze nature-related risks and opportunities including underlying revenue exposure and supply chain dependencies
  • Companies’ responses to comply with regulations like the EU Deforestation Regulation
  • Companies’ initiatives and progress on addressing identified risks and opportunities

Investing at the nexus of nature and climate

As nature grows in importance as a financially material risk across sectors and financial markets, we believe a good starting point is to begin by analyzing opportunities at the intersection of climate and nature. Whether it is investing directly into climate and nature solutions such as through fixed income or factoring in such risks into broader investments considerations, the climate and nature nexus is an emerging trendy worthy of investor attention.

The above is from Invesco Asia Pacific’s piece on “Nature, climate, adaptation: Investment opportunities and approaches”. For more information, refer to https://bit.ly/420wCjU.

三寶樹規劃體現生態文明戰略

【ESG分析師洞見分享】劉兆光, CESGA

三寶樹濕地保育公園的規劃,是香港北部都會區發展策略中的一項重要舉措,亦是對接國家生態文明戰略的典範。這一規劃的進展不僅體現了香港對生物多樣性和可持續發展的承諾,更回應了國家生態文明建設的戰略。

三寶樹濕地公園位處后海灣濕地,這是候鳥遷徙的重要補給站之一。政府的規劃不僅着眼於局部的環境問題,更是在全局層面上統籌后海灣濕地、蠔殼圍飛鳥廊道,以及米埔自然護理區等生態系統的協同保護和管理。這種系統性治理的思維,正是習近平總書記在二十大報告中指出「堅持山水林田湖草沙一體化保護和系統治理」的具體體現。

由被動應對變主動作為

公園的規劃體現了從被動應對到主動作為的轉變。面對現時私人魚塘經營困難、荒廢後無法供應鳥類食物等挑戰,政府積極介入,通過規劃和政策引導,確保濕地生態功能得以延續。其中土木工程拓展署提出保育措施必須重質不重量,在生態功能上「零淨減少」,並據今年中城規會通過的大綱圖,該署計劃將公園內的小型魚塘合併、移除驅鳥裝置,以改善生態環境。這種主動作為的態度,顯示政府保育工作具責任感。同時《北部都會區發展策略》也提出分期發展濕地保育公園的計劃,優先保護生態價值高的區域,這樣的規劃思路可見政府在生態文明建設中的主動性和前瞻性。

值得注意的是,三寶樹濕地保育公園的規劃還兼具教育和康樂功能。謝展寰在網誌表示政府正積極推進項目,結合保育、康樂旅遊和漁農業發展,包括提升后海灣一帶生境質素和生物多樣性、為市民提供優質的戶外生態教育及康樂體驗,促進水產養殖業現代化。這可見生態文明建設不僅是政府的責任,更需要公民社會的共同參與的義務。通過推動生態教育和提高公眾的環保意識,政府能夠將生物多樣性保護的理念融入日常生活,體現良好的生態環境是最公平的公共產品,是最普惠的民生福祉。

早在2016年,政府已經推出了首個《生物多樣性策略及行動計劃》,旨在加強保育工作,並支持本港的可持續發展。然而,該計劃主要是為香港整體的生物多樣性保育長遠策略,並未能對應近年北部都會區的急速發展。近年來,全球廣泛推廣自然相關財務披露(Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures,簡稱TNFD),為企業提供有關自然環境風險及財務影響的自願性披露框架。

TNFD框架確保雙贏

筆者建議政府可參考TNFD,將其融入三寶樹濕地保育公園規劃中,尤其在治理、風險管理、戰略及目標設定方面,確保濕地保育與經濟發展取得平衡。政府可通過公開披露濕地的生態指標,展示生物多樣性的提升成果,並與漁業、科研、旅遊及休憩功能相結合,回應社會對生態影響的關注。

此外,根據TNFD建議,政府應定期披露濕地在不同階段的生態價值,並與開發前的環境狀況進行比較,從而提高透明度、增強公眾信任。這不僅有助於提升濕地的長期生態價值,也促進了可持續發展的實現。TNFD框架能為政府提供有效的工具,幫助將生態保育與財務風險管理結合,確保三寶樹濕地保育公園在保護環境和促進經濟中雙贏。

從宏觀角度來看,三寶樹濕地保育公園的規劃有利於國家「雙碳」目標。濕地生態系統在碳吸收和儲存方面具有重要作用,是實現碳中和目標的關鍵組成部分。通過保護和恢復濕地,三寶樹濕地公園能夠在減少碳排放和實現可持續發展的過程中發揮重要作用。這與國家「碳達峰、碳中和」的長期目標相一致,展示了政府在推動綠色低碳發展中的務實行動。

展望未來,政府可借鑑新加坡濱海灣花園(Gardens by the Bay)的成功經驗,將三寶樹濕地保育公園打造為本港乃至世界性的生態保育地標。筆者建議政府可結合先進的可持續工程技術,例如使用太陽能光伏板供電及水資源循環再利用系統,以減少碳足跡,並展示環境科技的應用價值。此外,政府可吸引國際科研機構進駐,設立濕地生態研究實驗室,專注於濕地修復、碳匯(Carbon sink)能力及生物多樣性保護的研究。而在旅遊方面,政府可策劃年度性的生態主題活動,如鳥類觀賞節及濕地文化展覽,吸引國際遊客參觀,帶動本地旅遊經濟。更重要的是,政府應採取創新治理模式,定期披露濕地的生態指標及相關數據,與社會各界共同評估保育成效,確保發展與保育的雙贏。

三寶樹濕地保育公園的規劃不僅展現了香港在保育與發展之間取得平衡的決心,還回應了國家生態文明戰略的核心要素。國家「十四五」強調「實施生物多樣性保護重大工程,構築生物多樣性保護網路,加強國家重點保護和珍稀瀕危野生動植物及其棲息地的保護修復,加強外來物種管控」。三寶樹濕地公園正是這一戰略的具體落實,能夠協助國家生態文明建設,實現保育與發展並行的願景,為未來的可持續發展奠定堅實基礎。

本文早前亦於HKEJ 轉載

#本文章由 EFFAS 環境、社會及管治分析師 (CESGA) 所撰寫。CESGA在歐洲以及全球都具有高度認受性,全球報名人數持續上升。有志報讀的人士,請參閱:https://bit.ly/40chuOR