The global transition towards green and low-carbon development is accelerating, while China's "dual carbon" goals are being steadily advanced. This has created new opportunities and mission requirements in areas such as climate investment and finance, carbon market development, and low-carbon technology innovation. In this new phase of development, integrating carbon considerations with finance, industry, technology, and ecology has become a crucial measure for serving national strategies, enhancing development quality, and strengthening ecological security.
On April 29, 2026, the Fifth International Climate Investment and Finance Forum was successfully held in Beijing. The event was co-hosted by the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences and China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group, and jointly organized by the Professional Committee on Climate Investment and Finance of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, CECEP Eco-Product Development Research Center Co., Ltd., and Sina Finance. Under the theme "New Carbon Finance Landscape · Building a Green Future," the forum featured a main opening ceremony, three invitation-only meetings, and three thematic sessions. Discussions comprehensively covered key topics including enhancing the quality and efficiency of climate investment practices aligned with National Determined Contributions, leveraging transition finance to support green development in high-carbon industries, promoting the value realization of ecological products through innovative and localized approaches, accelerating green transformation via carbon market expansion, financial support for supply chain decarbonization and climate resilience, and building zero-carbon industrial ecosystems.
The opening ceremony included addresses by Li Gao, Vice Minister of Ecology and Environment; Zhu Guangyao, former Vice Minister of Finance; and Zhao Hualin, former Chairman of the Supervisory Board for Key Large Enterprises under the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
In the host address segment, Wang Jinnan, Standing Committee Member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, Vice Chairman of the Population, Resources and Environment Committee, Chairman of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences, and Academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, delivered a video message. Liao Jiasheng, Party Secretary and Chairman of China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group, gave a live address, sharing the group's practices and achievements in supporting the "dual carbon" strategy and climate investment innovation, and offering suggestions for future development. The opening and host address segments were chaired by Xia Zuyi, Vice Chairman and Secretary-General of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences.
The forum featured special speeches by Hua Jingdong, Vice Chairman of the International Sustainability Standards Board; Wang Xin, Director of the Research Bureau of the People's Bank of China; Wu Jian, Vice President of Bank of China; and Zhang Xiaosong, Deputy Director of the Social Responsibility Bureau of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission.
Several important outcomes were released during the event, including the national standard "Framework for Environmental, Social, and Governance Evaluation of Bond Issuers," the "Climate Investment and Finance Models and Institutional Innovation Case Studies II," the "2025 China Climate Finance Report," the report "Ecological Product Value Realization: Exploring Market-Based and Sustainable Pathways," the "Case Studies on Financial Support for Green and Low-Carbon Development of Chinese Ports," and the "Green and Low-Carbon Transition Bond Market Development Report for the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (2025)." Additionally, China Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Group, in collaboration with China Securities Index Co., Ltd., launched the CSI CECEP Climate Bond Index Series, which includes the CSI CECEP Climate Bond Index, the CSI CECEP High-Grade Climate Bond Index, and the CSI CECEP AAA Climate Bond Index.
As the first climate-themed bond index within the CSI index system, this launch not only marks an important addition to China's climate investment market infrastructure but also represents an innovative step by China Energy Conservation, as a central enterprise in the environmental protection sector, to support the national climate strategy and "dual carbon" goals, and to advance green finance. This initiative is expected to contribute to shaping a new low-carbon landscape and building a sustainable green future. The special speeches and results release segment were chaired by Liao Yuan, Party Secretary and Chairman of CECEP Eco-Product Development Research Center Co., Ltd.
A themed speech session was also organized, with discussion topics coordinated by Liu Xing, Producer of the Events Department at the Finance Center of China Media Group and Head of the "China ESG Release" and Model Ceremony. Participants including Wang Bo, Vice President of the Shanghai Stock Exchange; Bao Xiaochen, Vice President of the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Beijing Branch; and Liu Qiang, Global Climate Program Director and Chief Representative in China of the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, engaged in in-depth discussions on relevant hot topics.
A special dialogue session featured experts such as Ye Yanfei, former First-Level Inspector of the Policy Research Department of the National Financial Regulatory Administration; Ma Aimin, Chairman of the Professional Committee on Climate Investment and Finance of the Chinese Society for Environmental Sciences and former Deputy Director of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation; Zhu Liyang, President of the China Association of Circular Economy; Zhang Jianyu, Executive Dean of the Belt and Road Initiative Green Development Institute; Zhang Xiaohua, Chief Representative of the ClimateWorks Foundation Beijing Representative Office; and Li Wu, Editor-in-Chief of Sina Finance. They explored the strategic significance and key drivers for deepening climate investment under new NDC targets, as well as how climate finance can facilitate green transformation across different industries.