On 19 May 2022, GIP WG1 held a working group meeting to share work process and research findings. The webinar attracted over 100 representatives from GIP members. The WG leaders presented findings of the transition report on risks and opportunities of the Belt and Road as well as the use of CERAT tools, while convening panels on transition and biodiversity.

Ms. YIN Hong, Vice president of the Modern Finance Research Institute of ICBC, introduced the use of the CERAT tool in ICBC. Yin said that the evaluation results from CERAT could inform investment decision-making and help financial institutions manage environmental and climate risks.

Martin WEYMMAN, Head of Group Sustainability at Swiss Re, shared key findings from the latest report drafted by WG1, "Transition Risks and Opportunities with a focus on the Belt and Road", highlighting the urgency of the global response to climate change, transition risks and opportunities for the financial sector and put forward recommendations for financial institutions, including top-down governance structure for sustainability, developing clear transition strategy, enhancing in-house capability to identify, evaluating and managing transition risks, strengthening disclosure, etc. 

In the panel on transition risks, some speakers emphasized the necessity to strengthen communication with host country government, understand changes in industrial and financial policies through international cooperation, and establish risk management mechanisms and contingency plans. The working group will continue to conduct study on transition risks in Belt and Road countries and regions to help GIP members build capacity in this regard. 

In the panel on biodiversity risks and opportunities, BAI Yunwen, Vice President of the Beijing Institute of Finance and Sustainability (IFS), introduced the research findings on biodiversity and financial stability. A joint report from the Network for Greening the Financial System and INSPIRE pointed out that biodiversity loss can lead to financial risks and it is within the central banks and regulators’ mandate to address such risks. Globally, the loss of biodiversity is accelerating. While ecosystems serves as the basis of human survival and development, loss of biodiversity will have severe and complicated impact on industries reliant on natural capital, and generate nonlinear and even amplified impact on the whole economy. 

BAI Yunwen also introduced that in early 2022, the China Green Finance Committee formed a research group on financial support for biodiversity, led by the IFS. The research group is committed to helping Chinese financial institutions better support biodiversity conservation and restoration, understand and respond to biodiversity risks, encourage cutting-edge research and innovative practices in biodiversity related finance, and provide policy research support to financial regulators.

AGENDA

2:00-2:05 Opening

* Cheng Lin, GIP Secretariat Beijing Office

*       Jenny Hao, City of London

2:05-2:30 Launch of the Transition Risk and Opportunities Paper

Moderator: Wu Qian, PwC

* Martin Weymann, Swiss RE
* Liu Yihua, EXIM Bank of China

2:30-2:35 Introduction to the survey on transition risks and opportunities

* Wu Qian, PwC

2:35-2:55 CERAT toolkit: phase II update and next steps

* Yin Hong, ICBC
* Representative, Sino Carbon

2:55-3:15 Biodiversity-related risks and next steps

* Yin Hong, ICBC
* Bai Yunwen, IFS

3:15-3:25 Q&A

3:25-3:30 Closing remarks

*       Jenny Hao, City of London

* Cheng Lin, GIP Secretariat Beijing Office