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"ESG and Sustainable Development" Masters ForumOn March 16,2024, the "ESG and Sustainable Development" Masters Forum hosted by GCIC was successfully concluded. In this forum, we were honored to invite four experts in this field: Ms. Chen Yingjie, the senior project researcher of Greenovation Hub; Mr. Chen Yushi, expert member of ISO/TC322 TAG01 Sustainable Fintech, PhD in Science and Technology Policy Studies from SPRU, University of Sussex; Mr. Li Kai, Chairman of Shenzhen National Financial Technology Assessment Center Co. and Assistant President, Shenzhen Institute of Financial Stability Development; Mr. Zheng Hongtao, Professor of Beijing National Accounting Institute and expert of green investment. =20:58:22 The main topics of the forum included emerging trends and opportunities, climate change challenges, policy making and social participation. We discussed how to support sustainable development through ESG integration and promotion, how to improve climate resilience through ESG sustainable investment, how to actively participate to promote social change, etc. Topic 1:Emerging Trends and Opportunities Ms. Chen Yingjie deeply thought and observed the importance and challenges of ESG from the perspective of non-profit institutions. In her view, ESG is not only a shift in corporate thinking to balance short-term returns with long-term value, but also a key to addressing survival difficulties such as environmental challenges and resource depletion. However, the current value of ESG in the market has not been fully recognized, the risks in the environmental and social fields have not been systematically assessed, and the action benefits have not been quantified. In order to create more business value and business opportunities, it is necessary to identify ESG related risks and include them in all aspects of production and operation, and encourage more stakeholders to participate in sustainable development areas with policy incentives and economic tools. Dr. Chen noted that the challenges of climate change include transition risks and physical risks. Physical risks mainly involve climate disasters and extreme weather events, which have an impact on real assets, infrastructure, and business performance, while increasing health risks, affecting major engineering construction and natural system resilience. The risk of transformation stems from the industry pattern and business model change caused by policy and technological changes, which affects the revenue and capital cost of enterprises. In the climate risk analysis, enterprises, financial institutions and macro-financial stability should be considered comprehensively, but the existing models and data have insufficient support, and the risk may be underestimated. The ESG substantive analysis is particularly important when addressing the challenges, with a focus on the issues most relevant to climate change adaptation, enhancing infrastructure resilience, and combining grey and green infrastructure. ESG ratings need to focus more on real issues and risk disclosures to create financial returns. Stakeholders need to participate, and non-profit organizations play an important role in building communities and promoting the management of financial institutions. Promoting financial institutions' awareness of green and transformation programs is key to achieving climate goals. Dr. Li Kai stressed that ESG investment needs to return to first principles, and capital parties and assets need to cooperate to form a positive cycle and incentive. The GCIC platform brings together experts and the public to form a consensus that is crucial to system evolution. At the same time, the cases of ESG strategy should be summarized to evaluate its effectiveness. The transformation requires external support, including policy and scientific research. Financial institutions should use their research results to optimize their investment models, and entity enterprises should effectively use ESG funds to improve their operations. Basic fintech data needs to be strengthened, and words and incentives are the key. The application of new technologies brings risks, so it is necessary to be vigilant and avoid negative effects to ensure the steady progress of sustainable development practice. Professor Zheng Hongtao believes that ESG is a major opportunity for China's economic transformation, but it accompanies challenges. Following the ESG philosophy and understanding social phenomena is very important. Companies that seize the ESG opportunities have achieved significant results in areas such as new materials, while those that do not layout are at risk. Taking the green methanol project as an example, he stressed that ESG investment involves the integration of the industrial chain and has broad prospects. We need to pay attention to national policies at the macro level, coordinate industrial investment at the middle level, and pay attention to technical methods and practices at the micro level. ESG is particularly important in the field of ecological and environmental protection, and he looks forward to in-depth discussions on social and corporate governance in the future. Guiding the public to understand ESG applications, such as green napkins, represent a good trend but still shortcomings.
Topic 2: Climate Change Challenges & How the Stakeholders Are Involved Ms. Chen pointed out that the impact of climate change risks on the financial industry is transmitted through the real economy, mainly involving physical and transformation risks, especially physical risks in terms of resilience or adaptability. Currently, the impact of climate change on the real economy is underestimated, and many of the affected sectors and their risks are not fully considered. At the same time, climate change affects precipitation, which in turn affects the performance of renewable energy sources such as hydropower and the cost of power equipment. When doing the climate risk assessment, it is also necessary to strengthen the assessment and consideration of the hidden losses. The main challenges in dealing with risk management are lack of risk awareness and awareness, lack of ways to measure and quantify risk, and ambiguity in measures to improve adaptation and resilience. In addition, linking meteorological data with production and business activities and establishing forecasting models are also the direction of future efforts. Under the ESG framework, a more comprehensive assessment framework needs to be built to consider both environmental and social impact. Society and stakeholders' participation in adaptation and resilience projects need to consider regional differences and attach attention to the participation of social organizations, communities and individuals to make the decision-making process more inclusive. Individuals should also establish response and risk awareness, master basic climate knowledge and risk aversion awareness, reduce vulnerability and improve adaptability. Dr. Chen noted that the challenges of climate change include transition risks and physical risks. Physical risks mainly involve climate disasters and extreme weather events, which have an impact on real assets, infrastructure, and business performance, while increasing health risks, affecting major engineering construction and natural system resilience. The risk of transformation stems from the industry pattern and business model change caused by policy and technological changes, which affects the revenue and capital cost of enterprises. In the climate risk analysis, enterprises, financial institutions and macro-financial stability should be considered comprehensively, but the existing models and data have insufficient support, and the risk may be underestimated. The ESG substantive analysis is particularly important when addressing the challenges, with a focus on the issues most relevant to climate change adaptation, enhancing infrastructure resilience, and combining grey and green infrastructure. ESG ratings need to focus more on real issues and risk disclosures to create financial returns. Stakeholders need to participate, and non-profit organizations play an important role in building communities and promoting the management of financial institutions. Promoting financial institutions' awareness of green and transformation programs is key to achieving climate goals. Dr. Li stressed the importance of innovative companies in private equity to climate change, but relevant data is scarce. We should pay attention to the weak links in the whole system, and focus on the construction and improvement of the medium-and long-term mechanism system, so as to achieve better marginal improvement effect. At the same time, the government's participation in legislation and standard formulation is crucial, but it should pay attention to the sustainability of policies and increase the short, medium and long-term balance and resource allocation of sustainable development issues. In the process of legislative decision-making, the voice of stakeholders should be valued, and strong spokesmen are needed to keep continuously. He talked about the S part of the ESG, the social impact. The family dilemma of autism underscores the complexity and urgency of social problems that require systematic solutions across financial institutions. Compared with E (environment), S and G have more diverse problems, and resources need to be allocated more carefully. Strategic ESG is closely related to the competitiveness of countries and enterprises, and it needs to build a sustainable ecosystem. ESG education should run throughout the whole life cycle, starting from the children. In addition, the energy cost of current data computing is huge, and sustainability needs to be addressed across fields to avoid introducing new problems. In AI and data applications, we should also pay attention to the voices and doubts of stakeholders. Professor Zheng discussed ESG's risk risk control concept and joint coping strategies vertically. The concept of risk control involves the macro, medium and micro levels, especially in the environmental field, which is blue ocean but fierce competition. In the transformation and high-quality development, it is necessary to scientifically judge the process and possibility. The unity of global ESG concept and policy is a challenge, and China should respond in market, economic and financial ways. Risk control is a process of selection and benefit exchange, which requires structural guidance rather than just relying on policies. The ability to withstand the selected methods and methods is key, especially in areas such as rural revitalization. In the uncertainty, it is necessary to match financial investment, industrial investment and technology research and development to seize opportunities to meet challenges. He put forward three suggestions: the mandatory normative behavior of law, the guiding direction of policy, and the driving force of economy and finance to solve problems. Finally, he thanked GCIC and other activities for providing resources and support, and pointed out that forward-looking research and basic technology construction are crucial to practical work. He hoped that there would be more thematic exchanges and expert support in the future to promote the in-depth development of the ESG field. Q&A Session Q: As a youth, I want to devote myself to this area and develop my career in this field. I hope to invite our experts to give guidance to young people. A: Ms. Chen Yingjie believes that the sustainable employment prospects are broad, and suggests that young people actively participate in and consider various types of institutions. Dr. Chen Yushi emphasized the importance of combing the knowledge system in career development and proposed to cut from multiple dimensions in the sustainable tide. Dr. Li Kai pointed out that the career system keeps pace with The times, and suggested lifelong learning and timely action to contribute to the formation of the career. Professor Zheng Hongtao shared his experience in cultivating general talents in vocational education, emphasizing the importance of ESG and accounting as general knowledge, and pointed out that any position should pay attention to learning.
This forum focuses on climate economy, sustainable economy, ESG investment and integration, discussing hot issues, opportunities and challenges within the field. The four experts explained the emerging trends and opportunities, the challenges of climate change, and stakeholder participation. We would like to thank all the guests for their active participation and wonderful sharing, and we firmly believe that through our joint efforts and active actions, we will surely make more contributions to the sustainable cause and promote the sustainable development of the society. We look forward to gathering more wisdom and strength in the future to jointly promote the prosperity and progress in the sustainable field. *Learn More* Join the fast track to sustainable development! The Global Climate Innovation Center (GCIC) invites you to step into the prestigious G5 universities in the UK for a scholarly journey focused on climate action and ESG studies. Seize the new opportunities of the next decade! GCIC invites you to visit Ivy League universities in the USA, participate in global climate summits, and deeply engage with cutting-edge interdisciplinary studies and career opportunities in a global context. This spring, make a commitment to sustainability—GCIC is honored to participate in the "Sustainable Water" roundtable discussion at Ningbo Nottingham University, fostering dialogues on crucial environmental challenges and solutions. CONTACT US Email: info@gcic-sdgs.org Web: http://www.gcic-sdg.org/ Linkedin: Global Climate Innovation Center Mobile: +1 3322177393 (Bobby) +86 18518908614 (Lily) SOCIAL MEDIA Instagram: gcic_contact Twitter: GCIC_contact Facebook: Global Climate Innovation Center Wechat: GCIC-SDG Red：GCIC TikTok：gcic_sdg Weibo：GCIC全球气候创新中心 |
