The "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" period is an important strategic opportunity period for China's economic development, and the pressure on energy and environment is further increased. Taking the opportunity of building ecological civilization and developing low-carbon economy, it is of great strategic significance to vigorously develop low-carbon finance: first, the carbon trading market has global application value and clear income prospects, and the development of low-carbon finance is conducive to China's grasping the huge potential of the carbon trading market and enhancing its international competitiveness; Secondly, China's traditional extensive development model is unsustainable. Fully tapping and effectively utilizing the financing and leverage adjustment functions of low-carbon finance is an inevitable choice for China to implement Scientific Outlook on Development and promote the adjustment of energy structure and the transformation of economic development mode. Third, the "financial attribute" of carbon emission rights is increasingly prominent [2]. Actively developing low-carbon finance is conducive to the internationalization of RMB pricing in China's carbon trading and gaining more initiative and voice in the new round of international monetary pricing system; Fourthly, under the premise of effectively controlling risks, low-carbon finance is an effective means to promote the innovation of business model and expand the business scope of the financial industry, which is conducive to enhancing the social responsibility of financial institutions.
First, the development status and main problems of low-carbon finance in China.
Around the carbon emission reduction rights, developed countries have begun to build a low-carbon financial system based on the carbon trading market, including a series of financial derivatives such as carbon funds, carbon insurance, carbon securities and bank loans. Compared with the practice of developed countries, the development of low-carbon finance in China is still in its infancy. Although some achievements have been made, there are still obvious shortcomings.
(1) Relevant policies and regulations have been promulgated one after another, but their support for practice is limited.
In developing a low-carbon economy, China mainly refers to and abides by international conventions, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change signed by 1998 and the Kyoto Protocol in 2002. On this basis, in June, 2007, China officially issued "China's National Plan to Address Climate Change" as a guiding document for China's low-carbon economic development and energy conservation and emission reduction. In terms of low-carbon finance, China mainly refers to and follows the Equator Principle ① and the Statement of Financial Institutions on Environment and Sustainable Development ② issued by the United Nations Environment Programme. In terms of specific business guidance, the China Environmental Protection Bureau and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) of the World Bank jointly formulated the Guide to Environmental Protection of Green Credit in 2008 to standardize the management mechanism of domestic low-carbon finance.
Generally speaking, the operation and management of low-carbon finance in China mainly refer to relevant international standards and practices. Although some domestic policies and regulations have been issued, most of them are guiding opinions and outlines, lacking normative and operational documents, and it is difficult to effectively guide practice. In addition, the lack of supporting policies for low-carbon finance is manifested in the fact that policies such as financial subsidies, tax relief and financial incentives have not yet been introduced, which leads to insufficient confidence in the development of financial institutions and insufficient motivation for business expansion.
(B) Financial institutions have a strong sense of innovation, but their operating performance is relatively low.
Under the current policy and supervision mechanism, China's commercial banks are not allowed to directly invest or trade carbon emission rights in domestic and foreign markets. Therefore, the entry points of commercial bank projects mainly include green credit and financial advisory services.
1. Green credit has effectively promoted the business innovation of low-carbon finance.
In 2008, Industrial Bank publicly promised to adopt the "Equator Principle", and established the Sustainable Finance Center in June 5438+ 10, 2009, which is responsible for business operation and product marketing in the fields of energy efficiency finance, carbon finance and environmental finance. At the same time, Industrial Bank launched a variety of new business models, covering energy production, transportation, use and other links, breaking through the inherent defects of the original corporate loans, such as focusing on guarantee conditions and short term, lowering the loan threshold and broadening the loan term. In terms of specific project promotion, in May 2006, Industrial Bank and IFC signed the "Energy Efficiency Financing Project" to provide loans based on energy-saving and environmental protection enterprises and projects recognized by IFC, and IFC also provided relevant technical assistance and performance incentives for the loan projects. In addition, Industrial Bank launched the financing mode of energy saving and emission reduction with CERS as one of the repayment sources under CDM mechanism, which realized the innovation of low-carbon financial business. [5](PP405-406)2。 Financial consultants have effectively expanded the business field of low-carbon finance.
In July 2009, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank successfully introduced CDM development and trading institutions for two hydropower projects in Shaanxi by way of exclusive financial consultant, which is expected to bring at least 65,438+600,000 euros of carbon sales revenue to project owners every year. [6] On June 5438+ 10, 2009, Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, as the sole representative of the financial industry, and Tianjin Sino-Singapore Eco-city Investment Management Co., Ltd. jointly initiated the establishment of the first voluntary emission reduction joint organization in China-Eco-city Green Industry Association (EGIA), aiming at promoting low-carbon financial solutions. In addition, in order to create the image of a "low-carbon bank", Shanghai Pudong Development Bank has formulated the Policy Guidelines for Credit Investment and the Marketing Guidelines for Developing Energy Efficiency Financing Projects, which treat credit-granting enterprises and new projects differently, that is, give key credit support to green industries, explicitly prohibit enterprises with environmental pollution and high energy consumption from establishing credit relations with them, ensure that financial resources are given priority to environmental protection, and strive to build a sustainable and economical society. Financial risk ability.
(3) The carbon trading platform has been gradually established, but the international competitiveness needs to be improved.
1. The construction of carbon trading market is relatively backward. Judging from the domestic environmental rights trading market, there are currently three institutions: Beijing Environmental Exchange, Shanghai Environmental Energy Exchange and Tianjin Emissions Exchange. Among them, Beijing Environment Exchange is a franchise entity approved by the government, Shanghai Environment and Energy Exchange is a comprehensive international environment and energy rights trading market platform, and Tianjin Emissions Exchange is a comprehensive emissions trading institution. In addition to the above three institutions, in 2009, Lvliang Energy Conservation and Emission Reduction Project Trading Center, Wuhan, Hangzhou and Kunming were also established. In addition, exchanges in Dalian, Guizhou, Hebei and Shanxi are also in full swing. Although the carbon trading platforms in various places are growing rapidly, they are only primary trading platforms, and the capacity of the carbon trading market is limited, far behind the United States, the European Union and other countries and regions. In addition, there is a lack of communication between exchanges, and the business content and operating standards are quite different, which is far from forming a unified carbon trading platform. The role of CDM mechanism in supporting low-carbon economy is limited.
2. The transaction of registered projects is accidental. China has become the largest supplier of CDM in the world. According to the website of the CDM Executive Committee, in the future, China will get 1. 900 million tons of carbon emission rights are issued annually, accounting for 59% of the total amount of CDM projects (320 million tons). [7]
By September 2009, the National Development and Reform Commission had approved 2,232 clean development mechanism projects. Although it has absolute advantages in supply, due to the lack of a unified carbon trading platform, several existing regional exchanges in China are still in the pilot stage, with light transactions and occasional transactions, and the prices of completed CDM projects are far lower than the international prevailing prices. According to some data, at present, the trading price of carbon emissions in the international market is generally around Euro7/ton/kloc-0, while the domestic trading price in China is only around Euro8 8- 10/0, which is less than half of the price in the European secondary market. [8] It can be seen that China's low-carbon financial industry is currently at the low end of the global carbon trading industry chain, lacking pricing power and international discourse power, and its market potential has not been fully tapped.
Second, the analysis of the restrictive factors of the development of low-carbon finance in China.
The development of low-carbon finance reflects the sensitivity of China local market to the future carbon trading market. However, restricted by many factors, the development of low-carbon finance in China faces an obvious dilemma: on the one hand, low-carbon finance should meet the policy needs of the country's transition to a low-carbon economy; On the other hand, financial institutions should ensure the sustainable growth of their own business. In order to coordinate the above two issues, it is necessary to deeply analyze the related factors that restrict the development of low-carbon finance.
(A) Consciousness constraint is the fundamental reason that restricts the development of low-carbon financial business.
For a long time, financial institutions have been considered to have nothing to do with environmental problems. However, with the increasing pressure of resources and environment in China, corporate social responsibility is gradually put on the agenda, and more and more financial institutions are required to participate in solving environmental problems. In this case, how to find a feasible way out between the original business model and the new development strategy has become an important topic that financial institutions need to study in depth. However, because the investment cost of low-carbon finance is greater than the economic benefits in the short term, financial institutions are generally cautious about developing low-carbon financial services, and the low prices of completed projects also lead financial institutions to question the benefits of low-carbon financial services to some extent. At the same time, China's current policies, regulations and implementation framework for developing low-carbon financial services have not yet been implemented, and there are significant differences in the living environment and profit space of financial institutions. Some business practices that do not meet the low-carbon development standards have had a negative impact on other financial institutions. In addition, the rise and development of low-carbon finance is short, and financial institutions in China are not familiar with its profit space, operation mode, risk management, operation methods, project development and procedure approval. Without fully mastering the low-carbon financial business, financial institutions dare not rashly intervene.
(B) Cost constraint is an important condition leading to poor expected returns of low-carbon finance.
1. Opportunity cost analysis of low-carbon financial development. The development of low-carbon finance emphasizes ecological benefits, economic benefits and social benefits.
To achieve low-carbon development and ecological innovation in the financial sector, huge capital investment and strong government support are needed in the initial stage. According to international practice, in order to eliminate market risks, government funds are usually injected first, and then commercial funds are injected. However, at present, the role of our government in the field of low-carbon finance is limited. Of the 4 trillion investment to stimulate the economy, only 5% belongs to low-carbon economy and environmental protection, and the driving force for the development of low-carbon finance mainly comes from corporate social responsibility. The coexistence of huge market risk and limited return on investment leads to high opportunity cost of low-carbon financial business, and domestic financial institutions generally hold a wait-and-see attitude.
2. The transaction cost analysis of low-carbon financial development. Due to the lack of carbon trading pricing power and a unified carbon trading platform, the sponsors of CDM projects in China can only conduct decentralized "negotiations" when contacting foreign CERS demanders, and the transaction cost is huge, which easily leads to CERS underpricing and puts China investors at a disadvantage. In addition, project-based transactions involve the approval and technical certification of transnational projects, and the regulatory authorities require designated international operating agencies to be responsible for the registration of projects and the verification of actual emissions, which involves high costs. In the absence of policies, the huge commercial value contained in CDM mechanism and energy conservation and emission reduction cannot be effectively converted into real profits in a short time, and the economic goals and ecological goals of financial institutions to develop low-carbon financial services are contradictory.
Although financial institutions' awareness of business innovation is constantly improving and their business models are actively expanding, the benefits of project implementation are not ideal: First, from the perspective of the main body of business innovation, low-carbon financial business is mainly concentrated in a few commercial banks, and most financial institutions are not enthusiastic and generally take a wait-and-see attitude; Secondly, the scope of low-carbon financial business is narrow, and most banks have many ideas and few implementation, which is like a "dragonfly". Third, the carbon credit mechanism has not yet been established, and domestic institutions engaged in low-carbon financial business generally lack the ability to resist and guard against the international situation.
1. The trading environment is not perfect. Because the project chain of low-carbon financial business is long, it needs the intervention and assistance of specific intermediaries in financing guarantee and contract conclusion. At present, the development of intermediaries in the field of low-carbon finance in China is immature, and the professional talent reserve of intermediaries is not in place, which leads to a serious lack of internal motivation to carry out low-carbon financial business. In addition, the current international carbon trading is mainly concentrated in developed countries and regions, and the market segmentation is serious. China lacks a unified carbon trading platform, and carbon financial transactions have various market forms, including over-the-counter trading mechanism and numerous exchanges. There are both markets generated by government regulation and markets spontaneously formed by participants. These markets differ greatly in institutional arrangements, and most of them are inefficient.
2. The business model needs innovation. At present, although domestic commercial banks have taken actions in low-carbon finance, their business models are mainly CDM project financing and wealth management products linked to carbon emission rights, which are far from the core of low-carbon finance. Not only are financial derivatives such as carbon funds, carbon securities, carbon futures and carbon swaps scarce, but also innovative products that meet the diversified financial needs under CDM projects are rarely heard. In addition, China's existing low-carbon financial business is at the low end of the international value chain, which is not conducive to the improvement of the international competitiveness of financial institutions. To enhance the business ability of domestic financial institutions, it is necessary to strengthen the in-depth understanding of low-carbon financial expertise, and set a new high-level business model, especially the intermediary service model.
(D) Risk constraints seriously limit the business enthusiasm of financial institutions.
1. Market risk. Low-carbon finance is a financial innovation based on market environment, which objectively follows the law of market value. In order to achieve a win-win situation between economic goals and environmental goals, financial institutions must focus on the internal relationship between them and deeply explore effective strategies that can improve environmental quality, reduce transaction costs and enhance economic benefits. However, at present, China's energy consumption structure dominated by fossil fuels cannot be fundamentally changed in the short term. In the future, the financial sector still has a large profit margin for financing loans for the "two high" projects. Turning to low-carbon finance not only requires huge capital investment, but also faces the embarrassing situation of limited return on low-carbon projects. Therefore, in the absence of policies and regulations, the development of low-carbon finance first faces greater market risks.
2. Project risk. At present, China's low-carbon financial business is mainly based on financing loans under CDM mechanism, which is only a low-end project in the field of low-carbon financial business. Accelerating the development of low-carbon finance is bound to promote the expansion and extension of low-carbon financial project chain and expand the trading scope of financial derivatives such as carbon funds, carbon futures and carbon securities. The above transactions usually involve more than two countries, and the transactions not only need to comply with the policies and laws of the host country, but also need to comply with the international constraints of environmental certification. In addition, in the process of project construction and evaluation, there are uncertainties such as whether the project feasibility analysis is passed, whether the project is completed and put into production on schedule, and whether the carbon emission evaluation calculation meets the requirements, which makes the high-end low-carbon financial business face greater project risks.
3. Operational risks. It is difficult for domestic financial institutions to undertake the task of developing low-carbon finance independently in the absence of necessary low-carbon financial business knowledge and professional talent reserve. At the same time, because low-carbon financial projects need to rely on the international market, domestic financial institutions need to frequently contact international financial organizations, professional evaluation companies and financial intermediaries in transactions, and there are many uncertainties in business dealings. In addition, at present, international low-carbon financial projects are mainly denominated in euros, dollars, Swiss francs and pounds, and China lacks pricing power, so domestic financial institutions are bound to face greater operational risks in their business operations.
(E) Policy constraints lead to relatively conservative development concepts of financial institutions.
1. Domestic policies are seriously lacking. Due to the comparison of profit-seeking motivation and cost-benefit, the lack of domestic policies leads to the obvious lack of external motivation for the development of low-carbon finance: on the one hand, low-carbon financial business lacks specific operating standards. For example, policies and regulations on environmental protection and opinions on preventing credit risks are comprehensive and principled documents, lacking specific operational norms and evaluation standards, which are difficult for financial institutions to grasp. On the other hand, incentives and support measures have not yet been introduced. Although low-carbon finance has good social effects, the development of low-carbon finance faces high costs. At present, policies and measures such as tax preference, tax relief, financial support, interest subsidy and so on which are beneficial to its development have not yet been introduced, which will inevitably inhibit the development of low-carbon finance.
2. The future of international rules is uncertain. International institutions and professional companies tend to take a conservative and cautious attitude towards the low-carbon financial industry that needs to further reduce costs to promote commercialization and continue to develop technically feasible, which leads to the change of low-carbon finance full of uncertainty. For example, at present, China is an Annex I country of Kyoto Protocol, and it is not required to fulfill its emission reduction obligations before 20 12, thus gaining huge business opportunities in the carbon trading market. However, it is unknown whether the Kyoto Protocol will be renewed after 20 12 and whether China can maintain its status as an Annex I country. In this case, domestic financial institutions must pay attention to the potential policy risks of low-carbon financial business when conducting carbon emissions trading, and it is expected that a large number of commercial banks will take a wait-and-see attitude towards low-carbon financial projects.
Third, innovative countermeasures and suggestions for the development of low-carbon finance in China.
The development of low-carbon finance is a systematic project, which requires the joint efforts of all parties. China's "Twelfth Five-Year Plan" has made clear the general idea of low-carbon financial development, namely marketization and mandatory policy control. Under the guidance of this concept, we need to strengthen the responsibility consciousness of various actors such as government, financial institutions and enterprises, and realize the benign and sustainable development of low-carbon finance through effective government supervision and perfect market mechanism. Specifically, we should conscientiously do the following work in the future:
(1) Strengthen the macro-control role of the government and provide institutional support for the development of low-carbon finance.
1. Increasing public opinion propaganda is the premise. The fundamental role of public opinion propaganda is to eliminate the bad expectations and wait-and-see psychology of financial institutions in developing low-carbon finance, and enhance their enthusiasm for business development and model innovation. First of all, positive reports on low-carbon finance should be strengthened. Report the financial institutions that have made achievements in the field of low-carbon finance, highlight their business performance and social effects, and enhance the social recognition of low-carbon finance. Secondly, strengthen the leading and demonstration role of pilot areas and units, and select innovative units in the field of low-carbon finance by publicizing typical models, giving praise and policy support. On the one hand, strengthening the strategic position of low-carbon finance in China's economic development, on the other hand, highlighting the government's support attitude towards low-carbon financial business is conducive to eliminating financial institutions' concerns about low-carbon financial business.
2. The promulgation of policies and regulations is the guarantee. Formulating and implementing the incentive mechanism and related policies for the development of low-carbon finance is an important guarantee for creating a good external environment for the development of low-carbon finance. In the process of policy-making, it is first necessary to clarify three basic principles of policy-making, namely adaptability, tendentiousness and sustainability. Specifically: (1) policy outline.
On the basis of drawing lessons from international experience, laws and regulations on developing low-carbon finance will be promulgated as soon as possible, and the institutional changes of developing low-carbon finance will be promoted by administrative means. (2) Operational documents. On the one hand, we should formulate an appropriate and long-term carbon price mechanism to make the market have a long-term stable expectation of carbon trading price; On the other hand, the operation processes of low-carbon technological innovation, low-carbon financial business category, project evaluation and achievement transformation are refined. (3) Incentive measures. Formulating supporting policies to support the development of low-carbon finance, strengthening the incentive mechanism and guiding social capital to gather in low-carbon finance are important guarantees to improve the recognition of financial institutions and stabilize the development confidence of all stakeholders.
3. The establishment of information disclosure mechanism is a supplement. In order to strengthen the social effect of low-carbon finance and avoid adverse selection and rent-seeking behavior, it is necessary to establish an effective carbon trading information communication and disclosure mechanism. First of all, the government should establish a unified communication mechanism for carbon trading information, release relevant information of carbon trading objectively, comprehensively and timely, improve the transparency of carbon emission information, and eliminate the influence of incomplete information. Secondly, establish a strict supervision and disclosure mechanism. Regulatory authorities, non-governmental organizations, banking associations and the media should establish regular communication and interaction mechanisms, inform commercial banks of the implementation of the "Equator Principles" in a timely manner, promote environmental risk management and implement low-carbon finance, which can not only standardize the operation of financial institutions, but also enhance social understanding and support.
(2) Strengthen the leverage of financial institutions and provide policy support for the development of low-carbon finance.
1. Self-protection is the foundation. To give full play to the leading role of financial institutions, we must first emphasize their role as "practitioners" in promoting low-carbon concepts and formulate strict and standardized Opinions on Low-carbon Development of Enterprises.
And other binding documents, establish the concept of corporate social responsibility of "unity of righteousness and benefit" and regard sustainable finance as the core concept of financial institutions' operation and management. Specifically, financial institutions should strengthen the research on low-carbon financial issues, establish a "low-carbon business philosophy", and ensure that the business strategy and management mechanism of enterprises are consistent with low-carbon development goals from business processes and rules. Then, on the premise of controlling risks, we should accelerate the exploration and establishment of a long-term mechanism for energy-saving and environmental protection financial services, appropriately control access and punishment in business processes and project operation rules, implement the low-carbon concept in all aspects such as project approval and loan issuance, and strictly control "low carbon".
2. Lever adjustment is the key. Commercial banks are the main body of developing low-carbon finance, so they should play a leverage role in loan and project financing by establishing the environmental credit rating of financial institutions.
Specifically, it is necessary to fully consider the factors such as project resource conservation and environmental protection, and implement the credit strategy of "keeping pressure and treating differently" to cooperate with the transformation and upgrading of China's energy structure and economic structure. Adopt the policy of "active entry" for projects such as energy conservation, environmental protection and renewable resources development, and increase the credit line; Take the strategy of "moderate entry" for projects that conform to the national industrial policy and meet the standards of energy conservation and environmental protection, but belong to the credit limit management; Establish environmental access thresholds for industries with high energy consumption and high pollution, and adopt a "restricted entry" policy.
In addition, we should also attach great importance to the systemic risks brought about by the improvement of environmental protection standards, adopt interest rate leverage to adjust the existing financing customer structure, raise interest rates for the previously released "two high" industries, and form a hard constraint on enterprises to fulfill their responsibilities of "energy conservation and emission reduction".
3. Business model innovation is the key. In the absence of relevant domestic policies, in order to effectively cope with the huge investment cost faced by the development of low-carbon finance, it is necessary to learn from the experience of developed countries, introduce environmental factors into financial innovation, and actively develop related financial derivatives. Specifically: (1) develop carbon rights pledge financing loans to achieve soft constraints on corporate "environmental responsibility". As long as the bank reaches an agreement with the CDM owner and the National Development and Reform Commission, the funds obtained by the customer from selling CERs can only enter the designated account. When the customer fails to repay the loan, the lending bank has the right to dispose of the CERs obtained by the customer. (2) Develop environmental financial products and form a suitable product structure. For example, establishing green funds, issuing green bonds, improving green credit, and carrying out business innovations in low-carbon financial derivatives such as low-carbon swaps, low-carbon securities, low-carbon futures and low-carbon funds will change China's low-end position in the global carbon market value chain.
(3) Strengthen corporate social responsibility and provide conditions for the development of low-carbon finance.
1. Change the business philosophy. Low-carbon finance promotes corporate social responsibility to an unprecedented height, requiring enterprises to go beyond the traditional business philosophy with profit as the sole goal and pay attention to the organic combination of ecological benefits, economic benefits and social benefits in the production process.
To achieve this goal, we can explore from three aspects: (1) establish a long-term mechanism for enterprise energy saving, improve the energy utilization efficiency of enterprises by improving production methods, and highlight the contribution of low-carbon concept to the environment and society; (2) Purchase the carbon emission reduction index in Panda standard, accumulate the carbon asset management ability of enterprises, and realize carbon neutrality; (3) Carry out open and transparent carbon reduction actions of enterprises, lead and drive carbon reduction actions of other economies on the basis of achieving their own carbon reduction goals, and form a good social atmosphere.
2. Standardize the supervision and restraint mechanism of carbon emission reduction. At present, there is no public opinion atmosphere of "automatically fulfilling" environmental responsibility in China, and enterprises lack the production value orientation of sustainable development. Therefore, it is far from enough to fulfill the responsibility of "energy saving and emission reduction" only by relying on corporate social responsibility consciousness, and it must be standardized and managed through effective supervision and restraint mechanisms. In the future, we can establish or designate a national professional organization as the center, set up corresponding information collection points according to administrative divisions, and form a "corporate green social responsibility alliance". In the specific operation, each regional supervision center is responsible for the investigation and data collection of carbon emission reduction of enterprises in the region, which is submitted to the center after verification, and the center is responsible for the comparison and sharing of information. For enterprises that fail to fulfill their environmental protection responsibilities as required, the alliance has the right to disclose information, and relevant financial institutions can set environmental protection access thresholds for enterprises that fail to meet the standards accordingly.
3. Accelerate the construction of a unified carbon trading platform. As carbon emission rights and emission rights are derived into financial assets with investment value and liquidity, the scale of China's carbon trading market is gradually expanding, and the existing carbon trading platform can no longer meet the needs of low-carbon financial development. In addition, the environmental rights exchanges in various parts of China are isolated from each other and lack contact, which is far from the multi-level carbon trading market system. To promote the development of low-carbon finance, we must fully consider the imbalance of domestic economic development, formulate a fair and reasonable trading system on this basis, and accelerate the construction of a unified carbon trading platform. Specifically, China can learn from the model of "total control and trading system" in developed countries, and divide the initial emission rights by region according to the principle of "* * * same but differentiated responsibilities" [9]:
On the one hand, the total amount of emissions in each region is reasonably determined, and high-pollution areas pay for low-pollution areas to promote balanced development among regions and pay attention to fairness; On the other hand, the allocation of initial quotas can consider market allocation methods such as bidding, auction and hanging to improve efficiency.