What to watch for this week
Domestic news
01 The Regulations on Ecological Protection Compensation were promulgated to encourage the establishment of a market-oriented ecological protection compensation fund
02 The People's Bank of China (PBOC) and other seven departments issued guidance on further strengthening financial support for green and low-carbon development
03 The three major exchanges officially released the guidelines for the sustainability reporting of listed companies in China
04 In 2023, China's new new energy storage capacity will exceed 20GW for the first time, three times the level of the same period in 2022
05 Shenzhen Stock Exchange issued a handbook for the performance of duties of independent directors and audit committees
International Alerts
06 SBTi clarifies that the use of carbon credits in net-zero plans has "not changed"
07 MSCI Releases Global Net Zero Tracker Report
08 The European Parliament approved the Carbon Removal Certification Framework Agreement
09 The European Union requires zero-carbon building standards to be mandatory by 2030
10 The EU has committed €3.5 billion to protect the oceans and promote sustainable development
Issue 240 2024.04.09-2024.04.17
Domestic news
The Regulations on Ecological Protection Compensation were promulgated to encourage the establishment of a market-oriented ecological protection compensation fund
News on April 10: The Regulations on Ecological Protection Compensation (hereinafter referred to as the "Regulations") were announced and will come into force on June 1, 2024.
The compensation system for ecological protection is an important part of the ecological civilization system. The "Regulations" adhere to the concept that lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets, consolidate and expand the relevant regulations and requirements as well as effective experience and practices in the form of comprehensive and basic administrative regulations, and establish the basic system rules and rules for ecological protection compensation, so as to give full play to the role of the rule of law in consolidating the foundation, stabilizing expectations and benefiting the long-term. The "Regulations" have a total of 6 chapters and 33 articles, which mainly stipulate the following: First, clarify the connotation of ecological protection compensation. The second is to clarify the working principles and improve the working mechanism. The third is to standardize the vertical financial compensation. Fourth, improve inter-regional horizontal compensation. Fifth, encourage the promotion of market mechanism compensation. Sixth, strengthen safeguards, supervision and management.
Source: Chinese government website
The People's Bank of China (PBOC) and seven other departments issued guidance on further strengthening financial support for green and low-carbon development
News on April 10: The People's Bank of China, the National Development and Reform Commission and other seven departments jointly issued the "Guiding Opinions on Further Strengthening Financial Support for Green and Low-Carbon Development", putting forward the work goal: in the next five years, the world's leading financial support for green and low-carbon development system will be basically built, financial infrastructure, environmental information disclosure, risk management, financial products and markets, The policy support system and green finance standard system have been continuously improved, the regional reform of green finance has been promoted in an orderly manner, international cooperation has become closer, and various factor resources have been gathered in an orderly manner in the green and low-carbon field. By 2035, various economic and financial green and low-carbon policies will be promoted in a coordinated and efficient manner, the standard system and policy support system for financial support for green and low-carbon development will be more mature, and the functions of resource allocation, risk management and market pricing will be better played.
Source: CCTV
The three major stock exchanges officially released guidelines for the sustainability reporting of listed companies in China
On April 12, under the unified deployment and guidance of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) and on the basis of public consultation in the early stage, the Shanghai Stock Exchange, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange and the Beijing Stock Exchange officially issued the guidelines for the sustainable development reporting of listed companies (hereinafter referred to as the "Guidelines"), which will be implemented from May 1, 2024.
The guidelines require sample companies of the SSE 180 Index, STAR 50 Index, SZSE 100 Index and ChiNext Index and companies listed both domestically and overseas to disclose their 2025 sustainability reports for the first time by 2026 at the latest, and encourage other listed companies to do so on a voluntary basis.
The issuance of the guidelines fills the gap in the guidelines for localized sustainability reporting in the domestic capital market, regulates the disclosure of ESG and other sustainability information by listed companies in mainland China, clarifies the scope of the first batch of enforcement, and will promote the standardized development of sustainability information disclosure of listed companies and other market participants through a demonstration effect. The issuance of the guidelines has opened a new stage of domestic sustainable development information disclosure, which will inject strong force into the construction of a sound sustainable development ecosystem.
Source: China Securities Network
In 2023, China's new energy storage capacity exceeded 20GW for the first time, three times the level of the same period in 2022
On April 10, the 12th Energy Storage International Summit and Exhibition (ESIE 2024) hosted by the China Energy Research Society, Zhongguancun Energy Storage Industry Technology Alliance and the Institute of Engineering Thermophysics of the Chinese Academy of Sciences was held at the Shougang Convention and Exhibition Center in Beijing, and the "Energy Storage Industry Research White Paper 2024" (hereinafter referred to as the "White Paper") was released.
The white paper points out that in 2023, the global energy storage market will continue to develop rapidly, and the installed capacity of newly put into operation electric energy storage projects will exceed 50GW, reaching 52.0GW, a year-on-year increase of 69.5%. Among them, the scale of new energy storage put into operation reached a record high of 45.6GW, which is almost the same as the cumulative installed capacity in the same period in 2022. China, Europe and the United States continue to lead the global energy storage market, accounting for 88% of the global market in terms of new installations. Among them, China has newly put into operation 21.5GW/46.6GWh of new energy storage capacity, with a year-on-year increase of more than 150% in both power and energy scale, three times the level of new energy storage capacity in 2022.
Source: Xinhuanet
The Shenzhen Stock Exchange issued a handbook for the performance of duties of independent directors and audit committees
On April 11, the Shenzhen Stock Exchange publicly released the "Performance Manual for Independent Directors and Audit Committees" (hereinafter referred to as the "Performance Manual") to the market to further enhance the ability of regulatory services, guide the independent directors and audit committees of listed companies to standardize their performance behavior, improve the quality and efficiency of their duties, and promote listed companies to continuously improve their corporate governance. The Performance Manual clarifies the overall requirements for independent directors and audit committees to perform their duties, emphasizing that relevant entities should perform their duties faithfully, diligently and prudently; Oversight requirements for the preparation and disclosure of annual reports.
Source: Shenzhen Stock Exchange
International Alerts
SBTi clarifies that the use of carbon credits in net-zero plans has 'not changed'
April 16: The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) board recently announced plans to update corporate net-zero target setting standards and expand the use of environmental attribute certificates (EACs) (such as emission reduction credits) to help address Scope 3 emissions, but this plan has caused a strong response internally. Reuters reported that it had seen a letter written by a group of employees of the London-based nonprofit to the SBTi's board and chief executive, accusing the group's leadership of causing "serious reputational damage" to the SBTi. The Board then stated in the "Clarification Statement to the SBTi Board's Statement on the Use of Environmental Attribute Certificates (including but not limited to the Voluntary Carbon Market) for Scope 3-limited emission reduction purposes" that "no changes have been made to the SBTi's current standards". In a statement issued after the clarification, the environmental group World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), one of the initiators of the SBTi, noted that "offsets are not a substitute for emissions reductions in a company's operations, products and value chains", while also leaving room for the use of carbon credits, but "limited to addressing a small fraction of residual emissions" and backed by "enhanced accountability as part of a science-defined holistic emission reduction pathway". "The updated guidance should also address practical concerns about offsetting having a poor track record in achieving real emissions reductions and driving market transformation," WWF's statement added.
资讯来源：ESG Today
MSCI Publishes Global Net Zero Tracker
News on April 11: The MSCI Sustainability Institute (MSCI Sustainability Institute) released the Global Net Zero Tracker Report, which aims to analyze the net zero progress of listed companies around the world. MSCI considers 2023 to be the hottest year on record globally, with greenhouse gas emissions also at an all-time high (59.8 billion tonnes) and a global temperature increase of 3 degrees Celsius by the end of the century, based on the current net-zero pathway. MSCI notes that a growing number of publicly traded companies are setting science-based climate targets. Twenty percent of listed companies have already published net-zero targets in line with the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi), an increase of 8 percentage points from last year. 38% have posted net-zero targets that do not meet SBTi criteria (compared to 37% last year), and another 52% have published climate targets but have not provided a net-zero plan.
资讯来源：ESG Today
The European Parliament adopts a framework agreement on carbon removal certification
News on April 12: The European Climate Law stipulates that the European Union will achieve climate neutrality by 2050, which means that carbon emissions and carbon removals need to be balanced. However, in recent years, carbon removal from natural ecosystems has been declining, and industrial carbon removal has not yet been promoted. To this end, the EU said in its Circular Economy Action Plan that it will develop an effective carbon removal certification framework to ensure high-quality carbon removal and accurate certification.
Recently, the European Parliament adopted the Carbon Removal Certification Framework (CRCF) agreement, which aims to measure, monitor and verify carbon removal activities and reduce the risk of greenwashing. According to the European Parliament, robust, reliable and transparent carbon removal certification can facilitate the development of voluntary carbon markets and help the EU achieve its climate neutrality goals by 2050 and become a global leader in carbon removals.
资讯来源：ESG Today
The European Union requires zero-carbon building standards to be mandatory by 2030
News on April 9: The European Council officially adopted the revised "Building Energy Efficiency Directive" (EPBD), which aims to reduce the energy use and emissions of EU buildings through a series of new regulations. By 2023, all new buildings must be emission-free, public buildings must meet the target by 2028, and fossil fuels will be completely phased out in building heating systems by 2040. This directive is a key measure in the EU's response to greenhouse gas emissions from the building sector, which accounts for 40% of the EU's energy consumption and contributes 36% of energy-related greenhouse gas emissions. The new regulations also include measures to raise minimum energy efficiency standards and support building refurbishment, with the aim of achieving a zero-emission transition to the EU's building stock by 2050.
资讯来源：ESG Today
The EU has pledged €3.5 billion to protect the ocean and promote sustainable development
On April 16~17, local time, the 9th "Our Ocean" conference was held in Athens, Greece. At the meeting, the EU confirmed its strong participation in international ocean governance, announcing 40 action commitments to be taken in 2024. These actions will receive a total of €3.5 billion in support from various EU funds, the largest amount announced by the EU since the start of the "Our Ocean" conference.
资讯来源：ESG News
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