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
Featured Experts
James Partridge
Credit analytics expert helping clients understand, develop, and implement credit models for origination, monitoring, and regulatory reporting.
Hasan Cerhozi
Hasan leads Moody’s Analytics ESG methodology development. He is expert on carbon transition, nature related risks and is a guest lecturer at ESSEC Business school on sustainable finance.
Michael Denton, PhD, PE
Dr. Denton provides industry leadership in the quantification of sustainability issues, climate risk, trade credit and emerging lending risks. His deep foundations in market and credit risk provide critical perspectives on how climate/sustainability risks can be measured, communicated and used to drive commercial opportunities, policy, strategy, and compliance. He supports corporate clients and financial institutions in leveraging Moody’s tools and capabilities to improve decision-making and compliance capabilities, with particular focus on the energy, agriculture and physical commodities industries.
Previous Article
EP Reaches Agreement on Corporate Sustainability Reporting DirectiveRelated Articles
EBA Finalizes Templates for One-Off Climate Risk Scenario Analysis
The European Banking Authority (EBA) has published the final templates, and the associated guidance, for collecting climate-related data for the one-off Fit-for-55 climate risk scenario analysis.
EBA Mulls Inclusion of Environmental & Social Risks to Pillar 1 Rules
The European Banking Authority (EBA) recently published a report that recommends enhancements to the Pillar 1 framework, under the prudential rules, to capture environmental and social risks.
BCBS Consults on Disclosure of Crypto-Asset Exposures of Banks
As a follow on from its prudential standard on the treatment of crypto-asset exposures, the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) proposed disclosure requirements for crypto-asset exposures of banks.
BCBS and EBA Publish Results of Basel III Monitoring Exercise
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) and the European Banking Authority (EBA) have published results of the Basel III monitoring exercise.
PRA Updates Timeline for Final Basel III Rules, Issues Other Updates
The Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) recently issued a few regulatory updates for banks, with the updated Basel implementation timelines being the key among them.
US Treasury Sets Out Principles for Net-Zero Financing
The U.S. Department of the Treasury has recently set out the principles for net-zero financing and investment.
EC Launches Survey on G7 Principles on Generative AI
The European Commission (EC) launched a stakeholder survey on the draft International Guiding Principles for organizations developing advanced artificial intelligence (AI) systems.
ISSB Sustainability Standards Expected to Become Global Baseline
The finalization of the two sustainability disclosure standards—IFRS S1 and IFRS S2—is expected to be a significant step forward in the harmonization of sustainability disclosures worldwide.
IOSCO, BIS, and FSB to Intensify Focus on Decentralized Finance
Decentralized finance (DeFi) is expected to increase in prominence, finding traction in use cases such as lending, trading, and investing, without the intermediation of traditional financial institutions.
BCBS Assesses NSFR and Large Exposures Rules in US
The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) published reports that assessed the overall implementation of the net stable funding ratio (NSFR) and the large exposures rules in the U.S.
