Top US banks have quit the voluntary Net-Zero Banking Alliance and corporate giants are rolling back diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies to appease US President Donald Trump in his second term.
Europe, meanwhile, is “falling apart” economically “like a slow train wreck”, says Eric Lim, chief sustainability officer (CSO) at United Overseas Bank (UOB).
Speaking on a Jan 14 panel at the National University of Singapore (NUS) Business School, Lim says Europe’s governments will be pushed towards the right — “a bit more populist” — as a result of its faltering economy. “The question is, over time, does that translate to regulatory dilution of ambition, and does that bleed to the real economy as well as financial services?”
Could China fill this power vacuum on the global stage? After all, the 2022 United Nations Biodiversity Conference, originally planned to be held in Kunming before the pandemic scuppered plans, saw the world’s second-biggest economy brokering the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework as summit president.
At the Conference, also known as COP15, the world’s second-most-populous country took the lead and played “a very strong role” in getting countries to adopt the “30x30” goal, says Esther An, CSO of City Developments (CDL).
The pledge, lauded as the “Paris Agreement for biodiversity”, compels governments to designate 30% of Earth’s land and ocean area as protected areas by 2030. “It’s quite clear that China has the intent to play a more engaging role at the UN level, as well as in the TNFD,” says An in response to The Edge Singapore.
See also: Bank of China joins TNFD as first Chinese representative on Taskforce
Trump, on his first day in office, pulled the US from the Paris Agreement for a second time. If Trump pulls the US out of the UN Global Compact and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, An sees many parties vying for a hotly-contested seat. “I’m sure that will be quite a ‘hot chair’; people will want to grab that chair.”
An also serves as chair of the World Green Building Council’s Corporate Advisory Board and wears multiple hats in the Urban Land Institute.
China and Hong Kong have been playing “a more active role now than ever” on both networks, An reports. “We have seen such movements, and I’m not surprised that they’re going to play more [of a] leadership role in the years to come.”
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An was speaking a day after the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) announced the entry of the Bank of China to its Taskforce, which is expected to grow to 41 members. An is the sole representative from Singapore.
Bank of China will provide expert input to the market-led global initiative, which in September 2023 published the TNFD recommendations for corporates to report their nature-related issues. “I really welcome this move by the Bank of China, showing that China is really serious about conserving nature and adding value to business and more,” An adds. “I think we are going to see more of that.”
Alongside the appointment of the Bank of China to the Taskforce, the TNFD also announced the launch of new TNFD consultation groups in China. The Institute of Finance and Sustainability will convene a consultation group in mainland China. Meanwhile, the Hong Kong Green Finance Association and Business Environment Council will co-convene a consultation group in Hong Kong.
“Together, these developments both highlight and support the growing momentum in the Chinese market to assess and integrate nature-related considerations into financial and corporate decision-making,” says the TNFD, which was established in June 2021 with the support of G20 and G7 governments.
The announcement did not state the specific Bank of China representative who will join the Taskforce, but Tim Skeet, a member of the executive management committee of the Bank of China Limited London Branch, provided a quote for TNFD’s press release.
“As China’s most international bank, with a rich history of engagement with organisations and agencies around the world, it is fitting that Bank of China should take the lead as the first Chinese financial institution to join the Taskforce,” says Skeet. “From our involvement at COP15 in Kunming, our long and pioneering work in sustainable finance, to today’s important announcement, Bank of China is proud to step up and shoulder this responsibility.”
Over 500 organisations are now TNFD adopters, including Singapore’s CDL, UOB, Phillip Capital Management, Seatrium, Frasers Property , Olam Agri, Olam Food Ingredients and Oceonomy.
In total, corporates with over US$17 trillion in assets under management have committed to report their nature-related issues aligned with the TNFD recommendations.
