Hong Kong's Commitment to Sustainable Finance Highlighted at Earth Forum 2025

Acting SFST's speech at Earth Forum 2025

Following is the speech by the Acting Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Joseph Chan, at the Earth Forum 2025 today (April 22):

Plato (Chairperson of Friends of the Earth (HK), Mr Plato Yip), King (Executive Director of the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC), Dr King Au), Dr Leng (Board Member of the International Sustainability Standards Board of the IFRS Foundation, Dr Bing Leng), Dr Guo (Chairman of the China Sustainable Investment Forum (China SIF), Dr Guo Peiyuan), distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen,

Good afternoon. It is my great honour and pleasure to join you today at the Earth Forum 2025, a gathering of visionaries committed to shaping a sustainable future. First of all, I would like to express my gratitude to Friends of the Earth, FSDC and China SIF for organising this pivotal event and to all of you for your unwavering dedication to advancing green finance.

As Asia's leading international financial centre, Hong Kong has also become Asia's premier hub for green and sustainable finance. To align with the target of achieving carbon neutrality by 2050, Hong Kong has made significant commitments of its own. These targets are not merely aspirational; they are driving systemic reforms across various sectors, including energy, transportation, and finance.

In 2024, the total green and sustainable debts issued in Hong Kong exceeded US$84 billion, among which the volume of green and sustainable bonds arranged in Hong Kong amounted to around US$43 billion, ranking first in the Asian market for seven consecutive years since 2018 and capturing around 45 per cent of the regional total. This accomplishment solidifies our position as the region's premier platform for scaling climate-positive investments and also underscores our dedication to fostering a robust green finance ecosystem.

Hong Kong's status as a strategic nexus for green finance in Asia is central to advancing global sustainability objectives. As of the end of December last year, there are more than 220 ESG (environmental, social and governance) funds in Hong Kong authorised by our regulator, with assets under management (AUM) of around HK$1.2 trillion. This represents a remarkable increase of 136 per cent in the number of funds and a 15 per cent rise in AUM from just three years ago. These elements will solidify Hong Kong's role as the gateway to sustainable finance in Asia.

As an international financial centre, Hong Kong is uniquely positioned to mobilise the necessary capital for climate solutions while ensuring robust integrity within our financial markets. Hong Kong's multifaceted approach encompasses policy frameworks, market infrastructure, innovation ecosystems, and cross-border collaboration. Our Government Sustainable Bond Programme stands as a testament to this transformation. Having raised HK$220 billion since 2019, including the groundbreaking tokenised bond charge, we're not just starting green projects but creating new benchmarks for the market in different currencies and across different tenors. The recent expansion of the programme to include sustainable projects reflects our commitment to financing a broader range of climate solutions.

As we navigate the complexities of climate change and strive for a sustainable future, transparency and robust governance remain fundamental to our approach. In December 2024, we launched a roadmap on sustainability disclosure in Hong Kong. The roadmap sets out Hong Kong's approach to require publicly accountable entities (PAEs) to adopt the ISSB Standards (International Financial Reporting Standards - Sustainability Disclosure Standards). Assuming the role of the sustainability reporting standard setter in Hong Kong, the Hong Kong Institute of Certified Public Accountants (HKICPA) published in December 2024 following a public consultation the Hong Kong Sustainability Disclosure Standards (Hong Kong Standards) fully aligned with the ISSB Standards, with an effective date of August 1, 2025. All these ensure our regulatory framework remains aligned with international best practices while addressing the specific needs of the evolving markets.

Our regulatory framework is fundamental to creating a robust and dynamic sustainable finance ecosystem. By establishing clear guidelines and standards, we can ensure that all stakeholders are aligned in their efforts towards sustainability. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) published the Hong Kong Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance in May 2024, aligns with the two mainstream taxonomies of the Mainland and the European Union (EU), and currently encompasses 12 economic activities under four sectors, namely power generation, transportation, construction, and water and waste management. It serves as a pivotal tool to raise awareness about green finance, promote common understanding of green activities, facilitate green finance flows, and provide a foundation for further applications. In its Phase 2 development, the Taxonomy will introduce transition activities and add new green activities to make it more usable and support the transition of the region.

We recognise that developing green finance talent is vital for sustaining our leadership position. Our Pilot Green and Sustainable Finance Capacity Building Support Scheme has successfully approved over 6 400 applications with a total amount of reimbursement of about HK$35.8 million. As mentioned in the 2025-2026 Budget, we will extend the scheme to 2028 to continuously support local green finance talent training.

Our progress reflects the Government's commitment to not only human capital development but also technological innovation. The Green and Sustainable Fintech Proof-of-Concept Funding Support Scheme, launched by the Government in June last year, aims to nurture an advanced green fintech ecosystem by providing vital support for innovative projects. The Scheme facilitates the commercialisation of the solutions and the completion of the proof-of-concept stage, enabling wider adoption of green and sustainable fintech solutions with potential in the business landscape of Hong Kong. A total of 39 applicants involving 60 projects were approved, with a grant of HK$150,000 for each project. These initiatives are building the expertise required to sustain Hong Kong's leadership in sustainable finance.

Ladies and gentlemen, the transition to a sustainable future is both our greatest challenge and our most exciting opportunity. Hong Kong stands ready to play its part - as a financial hub, as an innovator and, most importantly, as your partner in this vital work. Looking ahead, we will leverage Hong Kong's unique position as an international financial centre to connect capital with climate solutions. This strategic role positions Hong Kong to make significant contributions to global climate action through financial innovation.

I look forward to today's constructive dialogue and to our continued collaboration in translating these strategic initiatives into tangible outcomes that advance Hong Kong's sustainable finance leadership. Let us work together to build a sustainable future.

Thank you.

Speech by CS at Nobel Heroes Forum: Shaping Science and Future

Following is the speech by the Chief Secretary for Administration, Mr Chan Kwok-ki, at the Nobel Heroes Forum: Shaping Science and Future today (January 12):

Dr Wong (Chairman of the University of Hong Kong (HKU) Council, Dr Peter Wong), Professor Zhang (President and Vice-Chancellor of the HKU, Professor Zhang Xiang), Mr Turner (Executive Director of Foundation Lindau Nobel Laureate Meetings, Mr Nikolaus Turner), distinguished Nobel Laureates, esteemed scientists,ladies and gentlemen,

Good morning. It is my great pleasure to join you today for the Nobel Heroes Forum: Shaping Science and Future.

To our Nobel Laureates – we are truly privileged to have you with us. You represent the very best of human curiosity and perseverance. Your ground-breaking work expands our understanding of the universe, lights the path for future discovery, and inspires generations. Thank you for joining this extraordinary gathering.

And to all our distinguished guests from around the world – a very warm welcome to Hong Kong.

Today's dialogue is more than an academic event. It is a powerful convergence of the world's finest scientific minds, right here in a city that is determined to play its part in global innovation.

Hong Kong's mission is clear and unwavering: to become a premier international innovation and technology centre. A hub where top scientists, scholars and entrepreneurs can thrive, collaborate and serve the world.

To achieve this, the Government is fully committed. We are building a world-class ecosystem and nurturing the talent to power it.

First, we are building the infrastructure for greatness.

We have established a strategic I&T framework centred on three major I&T (innovation and technology) parks and five key research and development institutions.

Building on the success of the Science Park and Cyberport, we officially launched the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen-Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone last month.

The Hetao Co-operation Zone is a major co-operation platform in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area under the National 14th Five-Year Plan. The Hong Kong Park is envisioned as a world-class hub for technological innovation, connecting the Chinese Mainland with the international community, and serving as an important source for fostering new quality productive forces.

Together with our five key R&D (research and development) institutions focus on frontier technologies, these developments will create more favourable conditions for Hong Kong to attract global I&T resources and talent.

Second, we are investing decisively.

We back our words with resources. We have launched significant funding schemes across the entire innovation chain.

To support excellent and impactful research, the Research Grants Council (RGC) under the University Grants Committee administers more than 20 competitive research grant and fellowship schemes.

Furthermore, last year we launched the 3 billion HK dollars Frontier Technology Research Support Scheme to empower ground-breaking basic research led by world-class researchers and academics.

To accelerate the midstream and downstream development, we rolled out three separate 10 billion HK dollars initiatives to drive the commercialisation of R&D outcomes and new industrialisation.

Third, and most crucially, we are nurturing and attracting top talent.

Talent is our ultimate driving force. We are expanding our talent pool through multiple strategies.

On nurturing young research talent, the Government has launched the Young Collaborative Research Grant to support early-stage researchers in leading and managing collaborative research. We are also actively fostering research collaboration between Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland and overseas research funding agencies through operating various Joint Research Schemes. These partnerships not only foster academic exchange but also provide opportunities to nurture researchers in exploring new frontiers in their respective fields.

On attracting global talent, the RGC Junior Research Fellow Scheme has supported some 300 doctoral graduates from Hong Kong and around the world to pursue research careers at our universities.

Our international research flagship, the InnoHK research clusters, is also there to bring together brilliant minds from all over the world to conduct world-class scientific research. To date, our two existing InnoHK research clusters – one focusing on healthcare technology and another on AI and robotics – have successfully built links with over 30 world-class universities and research institutes from 12 economies, pooling together around 3 000 researchers locally and across the globe.

To go further, the Government is now expediting the development of the third InnoHK research cluster, with the focus on sustainable development, energy, advanced manufacturing and materials.

Our strategy follows a powerful cycle: promoting technology with talent, leading industries with technology, and attracting talent with industries.

And we are seeing results. Hong Kong ranks third globally in "Technology" in the World Digital Competitiveness Ranking. The Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Guangzhou cluster ranks first in the 2025 Global Innovation Index Ranking of the World's Top 100 innovation clusters.

Our startup community has grown nearly fivefold in the past decade, producing homegrown unicorns.

This progress is no accident. It is built on Hong Kong's unique strengths. Under "one country, two systems", we enjoy unwavering national support and unparalleled global connectivity. Our robust rule of law, free-flowing capital and vibrant multicultural society make Hong Kong the perfect incubator for scientific exploration and technological breakthroughs.

To every scientist, researcher and innovator here today: Hong Kong is open for you. We provide the platform, the funding, the freedom and the connections to turn visionary ideas into reality.

We invite you to build your legacy here. To join us in shaping not just the future of Hong Kong, but the future of science for humanity.

On this note, let the dialogue begin. I look forward to the fruitful and inspirational exchanges. Thank you.

Source: AI-found images