China
should definitely get into green investments. If the world is making fun of
Canada selling you air in cans so you can breathe fresh air, it's a sign that
your country is heading towards trouble.
The Paris
Agreement, signed last year by 174 nations including China, aimed to bring down
the world's carbon footprints as historic commitments to climate change.
China has
dedicated itself to "green finance", which has become a pillar of
trouble for its country.
China has relinquished itself as the global testing
ground for innovative green-finance ideas. This priority also allows it to
experience the first success of any innovative concepts in green finance.
The program
extends to the domestic side of things with a focus on financing green growth
and "clean" businesses.
If China is
successful, it could mean standardising its systems for the rest of the world
when it comes to financial systems, corporations and incentives.
In short,
it could make the Paris Agreements bearable or even successful by a far margin.
As Zhou
Xiaochuan, Governor of China’s central bank, said during the recent Spring
IMF/World Bank meetings in Washington, DC, “green finance is a strategic
priority.” Zhou estimates the costs of cleaning up China’s environment alone
will run over $600 billion annually for at least five years. The Chinese
government can meet only 15 percent of that estimate. Alternate sources of
funding must be found — a problem that will be replicated in many countries as
pressure to implement the Paris Agreement increases.
