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Sustainability and Banking可持續發展與銀行業Climate change may affect corporate performance; taking corporates' climate strategy into account can be conducive to making well-informed decisions in financing and investment.

本文探討氣候變化如何影響企業表現。銀行幫助企業融資或投資業務時，或可考慮企業對環境因素的管理。

The world witnessed the first climate-change bankruptcy earlier this year, when Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E), the largest utility in California, filed for bankruptcy protection. The utility giant is facing billions of dollars of potential liability arising from numerous disastrous wildfires, particularly the deadly Camp Fire in 2018, as investigators have traced the wildfires to the company’s power lines. According to experts, climate change has worsened the effects of drought in California and accelerated the risk of wildfire, which PG&E obviously failed to manage and mitigate before they paid the price.

The bankruptcy of PG&E has led people to recognise the financial materiality of climate change, although alert for it is nothing new. It dates back to 2015 when Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, warned that climate change “could ultimately lead to a ‘climate Minsky moment’ – a rapid

system-wide adjustment that threatens financial stability.” Eight central banks, including the Bank of England and the People’s Bank of China, came together in December 2017 and established the Network for Greening the Financial System (NGFS), which is dedicated to promoting green finance and building a financial system resilient to climate risks.

Financial Materiality of Climate ChangeThe first law of ecology states that everything is connected to everything else. The financial sector is, without exception, deeply embedded in the natural environment where it operates. Sharply altering the environment, climate change could shock the financial sector through its direct physical impacts and indirect changes associated with potential low-carbon transition.

The physical risks of climate change arise from extreme weather events

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“The transition risks of climate change include losses incurred from the re-valuation of assets due to policy changes or technological developments related to low-carbon transition.”

line with the TCFD recommendations, covering governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets, despite the varying disclosure quality.

Green Finance ThrivingLed by different international organisations and initiatives such as the NGFS and the TCFD, green finance is gradually rooted in the international capital market across different banking sectors. Here are some significant examples:

1.ESG Investing Green elements are increasingly incorporated into asset management practices as Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) investing is going mainstream. ESG investing is essentially the incorporation of ESG considerations into the investment process. The most

practices. Taking climate change as an example: asset managers may consider the physical and transition risks of climate change in their investment analyses and adjust their portfolio accordingly. After investing in a specific company, they may actively engage the investee company and exercise their voting rights to ensure that the company has a strong climate strategy and management system in place.

The United Nations-supported Principle of Responsible Investment (PRI) network was launched in 2006 to support investors worldwide to incorporate ESG factors into investment and ownership decisions. The number of PRI signatories has risen from 100 at its inception to more than 2,200 today. It is noteworthy that all PRI signatories must report TCFD-aligned climate risk indicators starting from 2020.

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recent consolidation of academic evidence reveals that corporate ESG performance is indeed correlated with their financial performance, so investors may benefit from considering ESG factors in investment decisions. There is also solid evidence that firms with better ESG performance enjoy a lower cost of capital, probably because of their resilience to systematic market shocks. According to Global Sustainable Investment Alliance, the global scale of assets managed under ESG strategies reached USD 30.68 trillion in 2018, soaring by 131% since 2012. Among other ESG issues, climate change has received most investor attention given its well-proven financial materiality.

In practice, asset managers increasingly incorporate ESG elements into both pre-investment decision-making processes and post-investment ownership

氣候變化對金融所帶來的影響生態學的第一法則說明一切事物之間都是環環相扣的。由於金融業在自然環境中運作，因此毫無疑問兩者必定息息相關。在大刀闊斧地改變環境下，氣候變化所導致的實質環境影響和潛在的低碳轉型措施，分別會直接和間接地令金融業受到衝擊。

在氣候變化下，極端天氣事件和不斷轉變的氣候狀況會導致實質的環境風險，繼而直接打擊有形資產以及農業和勞動生產力。與災難性山火有關的PG&E債務，便是一個有力的例子。另外，如山竹等超強颱風對房地產和運輸公司所造成的威脅，以及乾旱對需要大量水資源來營運的工業所產生的影響，均因為氣候變化而變得日益嚴重。

氣候變化亦會引發轉型風險，例如在低碳轉型措施下，由於政策改變或技術發展，企業因此需要重新評估資產繼而造成損失。隨著社會趨向發展低碳型經濟，政府可能會推行一些大規模減碳政策，因而顯著地損害高排放企業的利潤。在可再生能源方面，顛覆性的技術突破亦會大幅地削弱非可再生能源行業的競爭力。投資者假如持有大量與高排放企業相關的投資組合，便會面臨相當大的下行轉型風險。

鑒於與氣候變化相關的風險日漸增加，金融穩定委員會在2015年成立了氣候相關財務披露工作小組(TCFD)。這個小組由米高‧彭博帶領，任務是為金融市場的參與者制訂一個氣候相關資料披露的框架，並

最終在2017年公佈最後建議。TCFD的所有建議均得到全球資本市場的持份者，特別是政策制訂者所接納，並成為氣候相關資料披露的黃金標準。雖然金融及非金融企業的披露質素優劣各異，但它們都正加倍努力按照TCFD包括管治、策略、風險管理以及指標和目標的建議，報告其企業與氣候相關的資訊。

綠色金融發展蓬勃由諸如NGFS和TCFD等不同國際組織倡議和推動的綠色金融，正逐步植根於各銀行領域的國際資本市場中。以下列舉了一些突出的例子：

1.ESG投資隨著環境、社會及管治(ESG)的投資逐漸成為主流，資產管理方式亦日益蘊含著綠色元素。ESG投資的主要目的是要將ESG的關注要點融入到投資過程中。縱觀最近期的學術數據，可以看出企業的ESG績效確實與其財務業績有關，因此投資者可在作出投資決定時考慮企業的ESG因素。此外，數據亦明確顯示具有較佳ESG績效

今年較早時間，加州最大型的公用事業機構太平洋瓦斯與電力公司(PG&E)申請了破產保護，讓全球目睹了首宗與氣候變化相關的破產個案。多宗災難性的山火，令這間大型公用事業機構正面對高達數以十億元的潛在債務，其中2018年一宗嚴重的營地火災，調查人員認為是這間公司的電力線路問題所導致。根據專家的說法，氣候變化令加州的乾旱問題更加嚴重，同時加劇了山火發生的風險。然而，PG&E很明顯未能在付出代價之前做好妥善管理和緩解措施。

雖然我們每天都會聽聞與氣候變化相關的警告，但PG&E的破產事件令人們意識到氣候變化對金融業所帶來的破壞力。2015年，英倫銀行行長馬克‧卡尼曾經警告氣候變化「最終會演變成一次『氣候明斯基時刻』（即一次能威脅整個金融體系穩健性的急速調節狀況）」。包括英倫銀行和中國人民銀行在內的八間中央銀行，在2017年12月攜手制訂了綠色金融合作網絡(NGFS)，從而致力推廣綠色金融和建立一個能應對氣候風險的金融體系。

undermine the competitiveness of non-renewable energy sectors. Investors who hold a portfolio with a large proportion of high-emission companies are exposed to sizable downside transition risks.

In light of the growing climate-related risks, the Financial Stability Board established in 2015 the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD). Chaired by Michael BLOOMBERG, the TCFD was tasked to develop a framework for climate-related disclosures for financial market participants, and eventually published its final recommendations in 2017. The TCFD recommendations have been well received by global capital market stakeholders, especially policymakers, and become the gold standard of climate-related disclosures. Both financial and non-financial companies are increasingly striving to report their climate-related information in

and changing climate conditions which directly impact physical assets as well as agricultural and labour productivity. The PG&E liabilities associated with devastating wildfires is an obvious example. Among others, the threats of super typhoons like Mangkhut on real estate and transport companies and the effects of drought on water-intensive industries are increasingly intensified by changing climate conditions.

The transition risks of climate change include losses incurred from the re-valuation of assets due to policy changes or technological developments related to low-carbon transition. Moving towards a low-carbon economy, governments may implement ambitious carbon-reduction policies which significantly hurt the bottom line of high-emission companies. Disruptive technological breakthroughs in renewable energy can also drastically

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term equity investments in unlisted companies, which fits well with green investment as it usually takes a long-term horizon. Renewable energy is one growing area of focus for private equity funds, as Prequin has observed an upward trend of renewable energy fundraising reaching a scale of USD 35 billion in 2018.

Development finance institutions, such as the International Finance Corporation, have been an active supporter for private equity funds in line with their development mandates. They invest in private equity funds and leverage a variety of tools including return enhancement, risk mitigator, and technical assistance to direct capital to specific sectors including renewable energy and other green investments.

For instance, the Global Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Fund is a EUR 222-million fund-of-funds advised by the European Investment Bank Group and typically invests in private equity funds that focus on renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in emerging markets. Its fund structure allows private commercial investors to take the senior position

whereas governments take the junior position, thereby attracting private capital to finance green energy projects.

4.Green Products in Retail Banking and InsuranceVarious green products are emerging in both retail banking and insurance markets. For example, green mortgages offer lower interest rates for purchasing energy efficient homes. Similarly, green car loans offer customers lower interest rates for purchasing cars with high fuel efficiency. Credit card companies also offer green cards which donate a certain percentage of every transaction made by the card owner to environmental NGOs.

In the insurance sector, green insurance products differentiate insurance premiums according to environmental characteristics – for instance, lower rates are provided for energy efficient buildings. Some insurance products are specifically tailored for clean technology and emission reducing activities such as carbon capture and storage. In certain economies, carbon insurance products like carbon credit delivery insurance are available for managing risks in the carbon market.

Green Finance in Hong KongIn the global shift towards a green financial system, the dynamic of green finance is also emerging in Hong Kong. As a hallmark of industry uptake, the Hong Kong Green Finance Association (HKGFA) was launched in 2018 as an industry platform to promote green finance development. The uptake of green bond is particularly significant in Hong Kong, as evidenced by the total issuance of USD 11 billion in 2018 increasing by 237% from 2017 thanks to the Government’s Green Bond Grant Scheme, which subsidises eligible green bond issuers in obtaining certification under the HKQAA’s Green Finance Certification Scheme. It is expected that the Government’s green bond offering in 2019 will further stimulate the green bond market development.

Yet, the dynamic in other green finance areas has been relatively weak in Hong Kong. For example, Hong Kong only accounted for 0.06% of the global assets managed under ESG strategies in 2016, falling far behind Europe (52.6%) and the United States (38.1%) and still short of Japan (2.1%) in Asia. Other green finance products and funds are also of limited presence in Hong Kong.

2018年超過1,670億美元，其中發行商亦合共超過1,500個，主要來自美國和中國內地。

3.綠色私募基金 私募基金是一種對非上市公司進行長遠股權投資的工具，因此與同樣具有長遠投資年期的綠色投資十分相配。可再生能源是私募股權基金其中一個焦點增長領域，據Prequin的觀察，可再生能源的資金籌集呈現上升趨勢，在2018年高達350億美元。

如國際金融公司等發展金融機構，一直在配合其發展目標下積極地支持私募基金。它們投資於私募基金，並利用包括回報增

強、風險緩解和技術支援等不同工具，來將資本引導至如可再生能源和其他綠色投資的特定領域中。

舉例來說，全球能源效益及可再生能源基金是一個由歐洲投資銀行集團提出，價值2.22億歐元的組合型基金，一般投資於新興市場中以可再生能源和能源效益項目為對象的私募基金。其基金結構可在政府站在較低位置下，讓私人的商業投資者擔任較高位置，從而吸引私人資本為綠色能源項目融資。 4.零售銀行和保險業的綠色產品零售銀行和保險市場陸續出現了各種綠

色產品。舉例來說，綠色按揭能為購買能源效益家居的人士提供較低的利息。同樣地，綠色汽車貸款為客戶提供較低的利率，以購買高能源效益的汽車。信用卡公司亦提供綠色信用卡，其中會將卡主每次交易額的某個百分比捐贈予非政府的環保組織。

保險業方面，綠色保險產品會根據環境狀況而劃分保費，例如為符合能源效益的建築物提供較便宜的收費。一些保險公司更專門為如碳收集及儲存等清潔技術和減排活動，度身訂造保險產品。某些經濟體亦提供如碳信用額度保險等的碳保險產品，以管理碳市場的風險。

的公司，其資本成本亦會較低，原因似乎是它們較有能力抵抗市場體系的動盪環境。根據全球永續投資聯盟的資料，2018年經ESG策略所管理的全球資產規模達30.68兆美元，自2012年起上升了131%。在其他ESG議題之中，氣候變化受到最多投資者所關注，證明這個問題對金融業界有極大的影響力。

事實上，資產管理人正逐漸將ESG元素結合至投資前的決策過程和投資後的擁有權方案中。以氣候變化為例：資產管理人可能會在投資分析期間考慮氣候變化的實質環境風險和轉型風險，從而按此調整投資組合。當投資於一間特定的公司後，

2.Green BondGreen bond is any bond instrument whose proceeds are exclusively used for financing or refinancing green projects. The issuance of green bond is built on the cornerstone of Green Bond Principles (GBP) established by the International Capital Market Association, which specifies the approach for the use of proceeds, project evaluation and selection, management of proceeds, and reporting. Based on GBP, issuers

他們便可能會積極地參與該公司的事務以及行使投票權，以確保該公司具備有效的氣候策略和管理系統。

由聯合國推動的責任投資原則(PRI)網絡於2006年推出，旨在支持全球投資者將ESG因素結合至投資和擁有權決定中。簽署了PRI的人數從成立初時的100人上升至今天的2,200人。值得留意的是，所有PRI簽署人必須由2020年開始，報告符合TCFD的氣候風險指標。

2.綠色債券綠色債券是一種債券工具，其收益會專門用於綠色項目的融資或再融資安排。綠色

債券的發行是按照由國際資本市場協訂立的綠色債券原則(GBP)，其中訂明了收益使用、項目評估和篩選、收益管理和報告的方式。根據GBP，發行商可制訂自己的綠色債券框架，或者採用外來的發行標準。綠色債券的發行往往會經過驗證，從而提升債券的信譽度。

自2016年簽署了巴黎協議後，綠色債券得到政府、開發銀行和私營機構的歡迎，為例如可再生能源、綠色建築和運輸等與氣候相關的項目融資。綠色債券在全世界日漸盛行，成為了全球綠色金融發展的重要推動力。根據氣候債券倡議組織的數據，綠色債券的發行由2014年的380億美元上升至

“氣候變化亦會引發轉型風險，例如在低碳轉型措施下，由於政策改變或技術發展，企業因此需要重新評估資產繼而造成損失。”

and transports. The global rise of green bond is an important driver of the global green finance development. According to Climate Bonds Initiative, the issuance of green bond had grown from USD 38 billion in 2014 to more than USD 167 billion in 2018, with a total of more than 1,500 green bond issuances, mainly from the United States and Mainland China.

3.Green Private Equity Private equity funds make long-

may develop their own green bond frameworks or employ external standards for issuance. External verification is usually conducted to enhance credibility.

Since the signatory of Paris Agreement in 2016, green bond has gained popularity among governments, development banks and private entities to finance climate-related projects ranging from renewable energy to green buildings

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number of key measures on green finance. To promote green and sustainable banking, the HKMA is developing a common framework to assess the “Greenness Baseline” of individual banks. As the manager of the Exchange Fund, the HKMA has incorporated ESG factors into its investment process and will expand the scale of green and ESG investments in its portfolio. The Centre for Green Finance was established under the HKMA Infrastructure Financing Facilitation Office to serve as a platform for technical support and experience sharing for Hong Kong’s green finance development.

“Green” and “Finance” In the face of climate change and the global green finance movement, it is impossible for Hong Kong to stand aside and escape from its responsibility in facilitating this paradigm shift. As a global financial centre, Hong Kong has the potential of channelling

capital to projects for climate mitigation, adaptation, and other sustainability objectives. In turn, the growth of green finance would strengthen Hong Kong’s status as an international financial centre. Finance can never thrive without a

planet; when it thrives, it thrives with a green and healthy one.

[1] HKEX has issued a consultation paper. Responses to the ESG Consultation are invited to be submitted by July 19, 2019. It is proposed that the revised ESG reporting requirements, once adopted, shall be effective the fol-lowing January 1, 2020.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS | 關於作者

Stephen WONGDeputy Executive Director and Head of Public Policy Institute, Our Hong Kong Foundation

黃元山

團結香港基金會副總幹事兼政策研究院主管

Johnson KONGAssistant Researcher, Our Hong Kong Foundation

江俊燊

團結香港基金會助理研究員

Gloria LUOAssistant Researcher, Our Hong Kong Foundation

羅文婷

團結香港基金會助理研究員

因此肩負起推動不同措施的責任以促進本地的綠色金融發展。

2016年，證券及期貨事務監察委員會（證監會）制訂了負責任的擁有權原則，當中建議投資者參與其所投資公司的ESG事項，並鼓勵他們制訂ESG政策。隨後，證監會在2018年推出了綠色金融策略框架，致力改善上市公司的環保報告和促進多種綠色投資的發展，包括上市和非上市的綠色產品。2019年，證監會發出一份通告，要求綠色或ESG基金主力投資於能反映出其綠色或ESG目標的資產中，以及披露與其投資策略相關的資訊。香港交易所（港交所）是另一個大力支持綠色金融的機構。2012年，港交所引入了ESG報告指引，以作為上市公司自願披露ESG事項的指南。在該指引隨後的修訂中，港交所改善了披露條款的架構，

部份條款亦趨向符合「遵守或解釋」要求。對於最近市場諮詢所擬議的修訂 [1] ，港交所承諾加強董事會在ESG管治上的角色，並提升上市公司在氣候方面的披露要求，這有助於轉向採納以策略為本的ESG報告，從而促進ESG投資策略的運用。

香港金融管理局（金管局）最近引入了幾項與綠色金融有關的措施。為了推動綠色和可持續發展的銀行業，金管局正制訂一個共同框架以評估個別銀行的「綠色底線」。作為外匯基金的管理人，金管局已將ESG因素融入至投資過程中，並將會擴大其投資組合中綠色和ESG投資的規模。由金管局基建融資促進辦公室所成立的綠色金融中心，能為香港的綠色金融發展充當技術支援和經驗分享的平台。

「綠色」與「金融」 在面對氣候變化和全球綠色金融運動下，香港決不能置身事外和逃避促進綠色轉型的責任。既為全球金融中心，香港有潛力將資金用於舒緩和適應氣候變化，以及其他可持續發展目標的項目。反過來，綠色金融的發展將能加強香港國際金融中心的地位。

沒有良好的環境，金融業便無法蓬勃發展；如要金融業蓬勃發展，便先須要一個綠色和健康的自然環境。

[1] 金管局已發表諮詢文件。歡迎在2019年7月19日前遞交對ESG諮詢的回應。根據擬議，經修訂的ESG報告要求一旦採納，須於2020年1月1日起生效。

香港的綠色金融在全球紛紛轉向綠色金融體系之際，香港的綠色金融的發展亦開始萌芽。為了將綠色金融納入到本港的金融業中，香港綠色金融協會(HKGFA)於2018年成立，以作為推廣綠色金融發展的業界平台。綠色債券的推廣動力在香港尤為顯著，其中2018年的發行總額高達110億美元，比2017年上升了237%。這都有賴政府透過綠色債券資助計劃，向合資格的綠色債券發行商提供資助，以獲取香港品質保證局(HKQAA)的綠色金融認證計劃證書。預期政府在2019年所發售的綠色債券，將會進一步推動香港綠色債券市場的發展。

然而，香港在其他綠色金融領域的發展勢頭似乎相對較弱。舉例來說，2016年本港在由ESG策略所管理的全球資產中僅佔0.06%，遠遜於歐洲(52.6%)和美國(38.1%)，同時在亞洲亦比日本(2.1%)低。其他綠色金融產品和基金，在香港亦寥寥可數。

綠色金融政策的動力香港的金融監管機構意識到本港綠色金融的步伐落後，同時亦深明當中的價值，

Dynamics in Green Finance PolicyAware of the trailing and recognising the value of green finance, Hong Kong’s financial regulators are taking up responsibilities and implementing different measures to foster green finance development.

Back in 2016, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) already laid out the Principle of Responsible Ownership where investors are advised to engage investee companies on ESG issues and encourage them to institute ESG policies. The SFC then launched the Strategic Framework for Green Finance in 2018, where it committed to enhancing listed companies’ environmental reporting and facilitating the development of a wide range of green investments including listed and non-listed green products. Recently in 2019, the SFC issued a circular requiring Green or ESG funds to invest primarily in assets that reflect their green or ESG focus and

disclose relevant information of their investment strategies.

The Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is another strong supporter of green finance. It dates back to 2012 when the HKEX introduced the ESG Reporting Guide as guidance for voluntary ESG disclosure by listed companies. In the subsequent revisions of the guide, disclosure provisions were better structured and some were accelerated to “comply-or-explain” requirements. Regarding the proposed revisions in the recent market consultation, [1] the HKEX has shown commitment to strengthening the role of the board in ESG governance and enhancing listed companies’ climate-related disclosures, which is conducive to a shift towards strategy-driven ESG reporting thereby facilitating the use of ESG investing strategies.

The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) has recently introduced a