Hong Kong’s status as green finance hub in danger from ‘loopholes’, lack of greenwashing checks: Greenpeace
- The city needs to set financing volume targets, restrict fossil fuel financing and enact a specialised anti-greenwashing law, environmental group says
- Government is pursuing multipronged strategy including a steering group on international reporting and assurance standards: spokeswoman
To achieve its climate goals, Hong Kong should close three “loopholes” in green finance by setting volume targets, restricting fossil fuel financing and enacting a specialised anti-greenwashing law, according to Greenpeace.
While the city boasts of being the top green finance hub in Asia, having arranged over one-third of Asia’s green and sustainable bond issuances, it needs to do more to prevent “greenwashing”, said a joint report by the environmental campaigner, along with climate-action group CarbonCare InnoLab.
When engaging in greenwashing, companies are unable to substantiate their claims by meeting commonly adopted measurement, reporting and verification standards on the environmental benefits of green products, including financial instruments. Left unchecked, this creates disincentives for society to take sustainability seriously.
“Hong Kong lacks an overarching green finance strategy for stakeholders to know how much green finance will be available for the city to achieve its climate goals,” Tom Ng Hon-lam, a Greenpeace campaigner said ahead of the report’s publication on Sunday.
“Hong Kong also has no plan to restrict financing for fossil fuel investment, nor any proposal for specialised anti-greenwashing legislation. These loopholes may hinder Hong Kong’s ability to become Asia’s leading green finance hub.”
