HKMA Announces Launch of Data Repository on Sustainable Finance
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) announced that the Green and Sustainable Finance (GSF) Cross-Agency Steering Group has launched the information and data repositories and outlined the progress made in advancing the development of green and sustainable finance in Hong Kong.
The GSF Center, which has been working to build capacity and enhance talent and data resources for the financial industry, launched the Data Source Repository to support the financial sector in locating data sources for climate risk management and other GSF-related analysis and research. The repository contains various government data sources relevant to the assessment of physical risks in Hong Kong, including historical data on catastrophe damages, district level micro-climate conditions (such as tropical cyclones, flooding, landslides and storm surges) as well as geographic data and a co-ordinates transformation tool. The Center is working with the government on the preparation work for the new Pilot Green and Sustainable Finance Capacity Building Support Scheme announced by the Financial Secretary in the 2022-2023 Budget, with a view to launching the Scheme in the fourth quarter of 2022. It is planning to create a free and publicly accessible greenhouse gas emissions estimation tool, with clearly-disclosed methodologies, that companies can use as an alternative source of information.
With respect to taxonomies and sustainability reporting, the Steering Group has been engaging with the industry and other relevant stakeholders to better understand the features and challenges of the local green classification framework. The Group will work toward proposing the structure and core elements of the local green classification framework for consultation. Also, to help the financial ecosystem’s transition toward carbon-neutrality, the Group further encourages market participants to respond to the International Sustainability Standards Board’s (ISSB) public consultation on proposed international sustainability standards. Additionally, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) and the Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) joint working group are evaluating a climate-first approach to implement the ISSB standards for Hong Kong listed companies. Following the publication of preliminary feasibility assessment of carbon market opportunities for Hong Kong, the HKEX has commenced further discussions with various carbon exchanges and stakeholders from across the carbon market ecosystem.
Keywords: Asia Pacific, Hong Kong, Banking, Securities, Sustainable Finance, Green Finance, ESG, Climate Change Risk, Physical Risk, Green Taxonomy, Sustainability Reporting, Carbon Neutrality, ISSB, SFC, HKEX, Steering Group, GSF Centre, HKMA
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