Full coverage: G20 Hangzhou Summit

As this year’s president, China has included “green finance” as an item for discussion at the G20 Summit. Indeed, it is due to issue its first report on the initiative during the meeting.

Dr. Ma Jun is the chief economist at China’s central bank (the PBOC) and has been leading China’s promotion of green finance since 2014. When China decided it would be a major topic of discussion at this year’s summit, he was invited to be part of a dedicated study group.

Given the massive demand for green investment, which could be a multi-trillion-dollar-a-year industry globally, there is now huge opportunities to finance it. But experts say the key now is to identify and overcome the challenges that could impede its development.

The study group put forward a number of recommendations for the G20 on how to create an environment to mobilize private capital for green investment.One of their suggestions was to facilitate cross-border investment in green bonds, where proceeds would fund environment-friendly projects.