(Yicai Global) April 7 -- China is missing over CNY1.6 trillion (USD232.7 billion) in funding per year to achieve its vision of carbon neutrality by 2060, according to a vice chief of a government-backed association.

The country needs about CNY139 trillion (USD20.22 trillion) to realize its vision, averaging about CNY3.5 trillion per year, Liao Yuan, vice secretary-general of the Climate Investment and Finance Association, told Yicai Global at a seminar held in Beijing today and yesterday, citing a prediction of the National Center for Climate Change Strategy and International Cooperation. The country aims to achieve net zero carbon dioxide emissions before 2060.

Despite the steady growth of financing, there is still a huge gap in global climate funding and the estimated requirements, the International Institute of Green Finance at Beijing's Central University of Finance and Economics, pointed out in a report released during the seminar.

Climate fundraising needs to increase by at least 590 percent each year in order to realize the 2030 climate goals various countries have agreed on, per an earlier report by California-based non-profit research group Climate Policy Initiative.

The gap is partly caused by severe information asymmetry, according to Liao. Some premium green projects are not finding financial resources and financial institutions are not discovering appropriate projects so demand and supply are not matching efficiently, per the expert.

Moreover, the operating mechanisms of low-carbon projects contribute to the gap. Green undertakings require big investments but yield low returns and need a long cycle to break even, Liao said. Evidently, those entities that try to fundraise for green projects, especially medium and small-sized firms, are often not very powerful economically and lack guarantees.

Some programs are still giving a reason for hope. China's Ministry of Ecology and Environment has been guiding pilot areas to build an information matchmaking platform for climate investments since revealing the list of areas in August, Ding Hui, division head of the ministry's climate change department, told Yicai Global.

Last year, the ministry published a list of 23 areas, including Beijing's Miyun district, to test climate projects. As of Dec. 31, 2022, the areas had drafted over 1,500 projects with about CNY2 trillion worth of funding.

Editors: Shi Yi, Emmi Laine, Xiao Yi