ESG News in Brief (18/10/2022 - 26/10/2022)

Latest Policies

Vietnam learns from South Korea to formulate a roadmap for the development of domestic carbon market

China's first comprehensive standards on ocean carbon sink accounting will be officially implemented on January 1 next year. 

Huaneng, Three Gorges, State Power Investment Corporation, China Resources, CECEP, and CRRC entered into photovoltaic upstream manufacturing

Cross-border ESG due diligence rules in the spotlight

Enterprises

Under carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals and find optimal growth path: Nine industrial chains including Transport Green energy, green building may open an additional $ 2.7 trillion in premiums

Yahua Group terminates Lithium Project Investment in Canada

Spain's oil-and-gas company Cespa plans Green Hydrogen Corridor

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Vietnam learns from South Korea to formulate a roadmap for the development of domestic carbon market

The Director General of Vietnam’s Climate Change Agency, Mr. Zeng Tiang, said at a seminar held in Hanoi on the afternoon of October 11, on the topic of the development experience of Vietnam’s greenhouse gas and carbon credit quota allocation system,  that Vietnam has always regarded tackling climate change as a crucial task and that reducing greenhouse gas emissions and using natural resources efficiently and sustainably while adapting to climate change is the responsibility of the entire political system. Currently, Vietnam has accumulated some experiences in implementing a number of carbon credit allocations, but there is still a shortage of expert knowledge on the carbon market for regulators and companies. To solve this problem, the Korea International Cooperation Agency will provide support in areas related to emission reduction and allocation of allowances on carbon emission reduction.

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China's first comprehensive standards on ocean carbon sink accounting will be officially implemented on January 1 next year. 

The standards on "Marine Carbon Sink Accounting Method" for marine industry complied by the First Institute of Oceanography of the Ministry of Natural Resources of China, was approved and released by the Ministry of Natural Resources on September 26, and will be officially implemented from January 1, 2023. This will become  the country's first comprehensive marine carbon sink accounting standards. The standards were categorized into 5 parts, including scope, normative reference documents, terms and definitions, marine carbon capacity assessment and appendix. According to the standards, the marine carbon sink refers to the processes, activities and mechanisms in which mangroves, salt marshes, seagrass beds, phytoplankton, macroalgae, shellfish, etc. absorb and store atmospheric carbon dioxide in air or seawater. The standards also assesses the ocean carbon sink capacity based on different types of life forms, such as mangroves and salt marshes.

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Huaneng, Three Gorges, State Power Investment Corporation, China Resources, CECEP, and CRRC entered into photovoltaic upstream manufacturing

As photovoltaic power generation moves from being  marginal to becooming the major source of the power supply, the photovoltaic industry chain has become the core industry that is the lifeline of China. In 2021, China Resources invested 11 billion yuan in a 12GW heterojunction cell module project in Zhoushan, Zhejiang Province. Not long ago, China Resources launched the bidding for the general contracting of the standard factory building project to support that heterojunction cell module project , and since then, the project has been officially kicked off. On August 27, the groundbreaking ceremony of the 10GW photovoltaic cell production base project led by the Three Gorges Group was held in Xinzhou, Shanxi Province. On the morning of August 28, the first phase of the 3GW high-efficiency photovoltaic module manufacturing project in Hepu County, owned by Beihai Huangshi Sunshine Technology Co., Ltd., which is controlled by Huaneng New Energy, has officially started. It can be seen that, the 'big five" and "four small" power generation groups, CECEP, CNBM, and CRRC are accelerating their participations in the field of photovoltaic manufacturing.

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Cross-border ESG due diligence rules in the spotlight

On March 10, 2021, the European Parliament adopted a resolution “EU Resolution”, and issued recommendations including a draft directive, the “EU Directive”. In late February this year, a proposal for a directive on corporate sustainability due diligence was adopted. The proposal aims to facilitate sustainable and responsible corporate behavior in global value chains. Companies have a critical role to play in building a sustainable economy and society. They will be required to identify and, if necessary, prevent, end or mitigate adverse impacts of their activities on human rights, such as child labor and exploitation of workers, and negative impacts on the environment, such as pollution and biodiversity loss. For businesses these new rules will bring legal certainty and level the playing field.

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Under carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals and find optimal growth path: Nine industrial chains including Transport Green energy, green building may open an additional $ 2.7 trillion in premiums

McKinsey & Company estimates that from 2020 to 2030, the nine industrial chains including the four core green themes of green transportation, green energy, green buildings, green agriculture, forestry and animal husbandry will generate a cumulative premium scale of about $ 2.7 trillion. Among them, green transportation is the core growth engine, with estimated total insurance premiums of about $ 2 trillion. McKinsey & Company argues that green insurance can be further broken down into three opportunities.

 For opportunities of emerging industry, the explosive growth of new industries and technologies, such as new energy vehicles and hydrogen storage, will cause great changes in the industry structure. Insurance companies can take this opportunity to make a transition to new economy. So as to search for growth opportunities and develop high-value businesses. For opportunities of innovative solutions, insurance companies can focus on specific ricks in the industrial chain to cope with new risk types, and design differentiated insurance solutions and pricing strategies.

For opportunities of innovative model, in addition to traditional underwriting business, insurance companies can provide more value-added services for the insured, to reduce enterprise risks, improve profits, and charge corresponding service fees.

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Yahua Group terminates Lithium Project Investment in Canada

On the evening of October 12, Yahua Group announced that the Company plans to terminate the investment in the Ultra Lithium Inc. project in Canada. The termination of the investment is mainly based on the judgement of current international environmental, which is expected to have a greater impact on the mine development cycle. With the agreement of both parties, Yahua Group had signed the Termination Agreement of the Share Subscription Agreement with Ultra Lithium Inc., and will also sign an agreement to withdraw in the future concerning the project company. The Company indicated that the termination of the external investment was the result of the Company's prudent consideration and consistent negotiation with the other party, and the Company was not required to bear compensation and other liabilities for the termination of any relevant issues. In addition, the concerning lithium ore project has not yet entered the physical mining stage without substantial income. The termination of this investment will not have a significant impact on the normal production and operation and future development of the Company, or impair the interests of the Company and all the shareholders, particularly the interests of the minority shareholders.

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Spain's oil-and-gas company Cespa plans Green Hydrogen Corridor

As reported by Dow Jones Newswires on October 12, Spanish oil-and-gas company Cepsa SA and the Port of Rotterdam on Tuesday said they plan to create a green hydrogen corridor to help power northern Europe's industry while reducing its carbon footprint. The company will produce hydrogen via renewable energy near the port. This green hydrogen corridor, the first to connect Europe’s solar-rich south with its industry-intensive north, is expected to be in operation by 2027.