The Business School’s Green Finance Research Project aims to boost Hong Kong’s status as a leading green finance center.

Tackling climate change and making our planet a more sustainable place to live are pressing issues facing humankind. At the same time, the brown-to-green transition requires the mobilization of large amounts of funding. Linking investment decisions to environmental performance, green finance plays a highly crucial role in solving environmental issues by directing funds towards a wide variety of green initiatives.

As an international financial center, Hong Kong is wellplaced to attract and facilitate green finance. With the support of the Research Grants Council’s Theme-based Research Scheme, the Business School has joined hands with the Division of Environment in running a green finance research project entitled “Developing Hong Kong as a Global Green Finance Center”.

The aim of the project is to develop research and educational programs that enhance Hong Kong’s position as an international green finance center. The research project also seeks to push Hong Kong forward as a research, innovation and repository center for green finance and its related technology.

The project will harness the knowledge and expertise of an interdisciplinary team of academic specialists in the areas of finance, environmental science, public policy and technology, as well as former policymakers and experienced practitioners. Together, they will try to address fundamental research questions in green finance through a series of cohesive studies grouped into six areas.

These include the impact of environmental risk on financial markets and financial decisions; climate risk modelling and derivative products; the financing of green infrastructure projects; enabling technologies related to green finance; talent capacity building and talent development; and the effectiveness of policy and regulatory instruments in developing green finance in Hong Kong.