(Yicai) July 24 -- Yicai Media Group and S&P Global Sustainable1 jointly held a roundtable dinner under the theme 'Investment and Financing Contribution to Carbon Neutrality - From Practice to Disclosure', focusing on the roles and challenges of the financial industry in carbon neutrality.

The roundtable, held on July 18, aimed to provide financial industry leaders with an opportunity to have in-depth exchanges with domestic and global experts. It offered a chance to explore development, risks, and opportunities in investment and financing activities within the context of carbon neutrality. It also discussed the latest progress in carbon accounting, carbon data quality, and disclosure practices of investment and financial portfolios, promoting sustainable development across various industries in the new era.

Song Jingjing, Chairwoman of Yicai Foundation, emphasized the importance of corporate carbon emissions data in connecting finance and the real economy. The carbon accounting system faces challenges of standardization data accuracy, and etc., requiring continuous exploration and improvement, she noted.

The financial industry faces challenges in calculating the amount of carbon emissions generated from investment and financing activities, mainly due to a lack of reliable carbon data, said Lauren Smart, Chief Commercial and Market Engagement Officer of S&P Global Sustainable1. 

S&P Global has partnered with the Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials to provide powerful carbon footprint calculation tools and detailed methodologies to help financial institutions comply with regulatory disclosure requirements and manage climate risks, Smart added.

The first step of achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, a global treaty on climate change, is to standardize emissions accounting for investment and financing, noted Thomas Yagel, Chief Operations and Product Officer of S&P Global Sustainable1. Financial institutions should explain how data quality is assessed and commit to gradually improve it, he noted.

Following Yagel's session, Rong Yu, Head of Greater China and ASEAN ESG Solutions at S&P Global Sustainable1, moderated a roundtable discussion where attendees actively discussed global trends in sustainable finance, the status of Chinese financial institutions' carbon initiatives, and challenges in setting carbon reduction goals.

Disclosure of sustainable information will become increasingly important and will be one of the most critical data points alongside financial information. According to S&P Global's carbon and environment database, companies' emission disclosure has significantly increased since 2016. More than 6,000 firms disclosed their environmental data in 2021, but nearly half of it needs to be adjusted and supplemented.

Editor: Maritn Kadiev