Recently, the 2024 Peak Carbon and Carbon Neutrality Green Development Forum, hosted by People’s Daily, was held in Beijing. CIB’s case study on “Promoting Green and Low-Carbon Development, Excelling in Green Finance” won the “2024 Peak Carbon and Carbon Neutrality Green Development Excellence Case” award.
Achieving the “dual carbon” goals and promoting a comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development cannot be achieved without the support of Green Banking. As a pioneer in domestic Green Banking, CIB has, in recent years, been guided by Xi Jinping’s Thought on Ecological Civilization, continually elevating the strategic importance of Green Banking. By focusing on key areas such as “carbon reduction, pollution control, greening, and growth,” the bank has integrated green concepts into various industries, leveraging its operational advantages in Green Banking. CIB has coordinated support for the green transformation and upgrading of traditional industries as well as the development and expansion of emerging green industries, consistently enhancing its “Green Banking” brand. For five consecutive years, CIB has received the highest rating in the MSCI ESG ratings among domestic banks. At the Green Banking Service for Beautiful China Construction Symposium, jointly held by the People’s Bank of China, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, the National Financial Regulatory Administration, and the China Securities Regulatory Commission on May 10, CIB, as a representative financial institution, shared its Green Banking experiences.
Data shows that by the end of 2023, CIB’s green finance balance reached 1.89 trillion RMB, an increase of 16.14% year-on-year. Of this, the balance of green loans, as defined by the People’s Bank of China, reached 809.019 billion RMB, an increase of 26.99% from the previous year, adding 171.947 billion RMB, accounting for 36% of the increase in loans for the period. The green projects supported by these loans are projected to save 9.52 million tons of standard coal annually, reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 22.92 million tons annually, and save 10.55 million tons of water annually.
In the field of carbon finance, CIB has leveraged its professional expertise to promote the deep integration of Green Banking and industry, strengthening the professional consulting services of the CIB Carbon Finance Research Institute. This includes providing comprehensive “financial + non-financial” services such as carbon consulting, carbon accounts, and ESG management. By the end of 2023, CIB’s green financing balance in the “carbon reduction” sector reached 1.06 trillion RMB, with a cumulative financing of 132.1 billion RMB provided for the low-carbon transformation of high-carbon industries such as petrochemicals and steel.
To address diverse and multi-level financing needs, CIB actively participated in the construction of the national carbon market, exploring carbon finance product innovation and continuously improving the carbon finance service system. The bank provided comprehensive financial solutions for carbon asset management and pollution reduction, launching a series of innovative products with market demonstration effects. These include the first batch of loans linked to CCER (China Certified Emission Reductions) projects following the CCER market restart and the first cross-compliance period carbon emission rights pledge financing business in the national carbon market.
Furthermore, CIB leverages digital means to enhance the quality and efficiency of carbon management services. In March 2023, CIB launched its self-developed “dual carbon” management platform and released a special project for carbon finance services based on corporate carbon accounts. By the end of 2023, the platform’s corporate carbon account module had over 1,700 customer carbon account records, with 160,000 individual carbon accounts opened.