Why has climate finance struggled to deliver the pace of change the world needs? This question shaped a fireside chat featuring Prof. Lisa SACHS (below left) and Prof. Christine LOH (below right) on why global climate finance is stalled, and how we must redefine our approach.
Prof. Lisa Sachs (Director, Columbia Center on Sustainable Investment & Columbia Climate School) and Prof. Christine Loh (Chief Development Strategist, Institute for the Environment and Adjunct Professor, Division of Environment and Sustainability, HKUST) in conversation on the future of climate finance.
The dialogue offered a fundamental critique of conventional Western climate finance, arguing that the current global financial architecture has failed to accelerate green transitions due to its over-reliance on entity-level optimization and passive market disclosures, rather than holistic systems planning. By contrast, the discussion explored China's systems-planning model and Hong Kong’s unique Scheme of Control Agreements as powerful case studies in successfully aligning public policy with private capital to finance public goods.
Co-hosted by HKUST Business School and the Columbia Alumni Association Hong Kong, the discussion offered fresh perspectives on how public policy and private capital can work together to address the challenges of sustainable development.
