The Climate Bonds Standards Board recently approved SynTao Green Finance Co., Ltd. as the first verification body in China for the Climate Bond Standard, a tool for investors and governments to ensure projects pursuing funding are used to deliver climate change solutions.
The Climate Bonds Standard is one of the international tools that allows investors and other stakeholders to assess the environmental integrity of bonds claiming to address climate change mitigation and adaptation. A certification under Climate Bonds Standard provides greater certainty for investors about the climate benefit of their investments which is especially valuable in controversial areas like bioenergy and energy efficiency. A prospective issuer of a climate bond will be required to secure a verification statement from a third party verifier that the bond is in compliance with the Climate Bond Standard.
Climate bonds, which finance for low-carbon solutions, are one of the fastest growing classes of fixed-assets investments internationally. The People’s Bank of China launched a notice on issuance of green financial bonds in the interbank bond market in December 2015, together with a catalog of endorsed projects. The State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission also issued a guidance on corporate green bonds days after.
Tracy Cai, the CEO of SynTao Green Finance, said that: “as an Approved Verifier under the Climate Bonds Standard we plan to play an important role in developing confidence and trust in the growing green bond market in China. Certification services will be designed to meet both the new People’s Bank of China regulations for financial institution bonds as well the international standard.”
Climate Bonds Initiative CEO Sean Kidney said: “Under recently announced green bond regulations from the People’s Bank of China, the country’s central bank, Chinese issuers are encouraged to get certification from an independent professional institution. We are working to share international approaches to assurance for the benefit of the Chinese domestic market. If confidence in environmental credentials can be assured and maintained, we believe the Chinese green bonds market can quickly grow to be the world’s largest.”
With the start of green bond market in China, there is also a growing demand by investors for bonds to be certified and verified to accepted standards in order to avoid the risk of green washing. In the notice issued by the People’s Bank of China, the central bank also encourages the green financial bonds issuers to submit review opinions or certifications from independent professional assessment or certification institutions. As the first China-based verifier for green bond, SynTao Green Finance will help investors to identify the green impact of their funding.
For more information on the Climate Bond Standards, please visit the Climate Bonds Initiative website: https://www.climatebonds.net/standards
For more information on climate bond verification service, please contact contact@syntaogf.com
About SynTao Green Finance
SynTao Green Finance is an independent consultancy promoting sustainable finance in China. With a global vision and rich local practice, we provide consulting, research and training services in ESG risk management, green finance product innovation, and other sustainable finance perspectives.
SynTao Green Finance is founded by SynTao, a leading CSR consultancy in China. SynTao is one of the first consultancies to provide consulting, research and training services in the areas of green credit and socially responsible investment (SRI) in China. We specialize in analyzing sustainable finance practices and trends, as well as exploring a development model which combines finance and sustainability. We have built strategic partnerships with organizations such as governmental agencies, international organizations, and financial institutions in many projects ranging from policy research to product innovation, and have achieved great experience in the area of sustainable finance.