In 2020, the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and the increasing materiality of climate change risks forced more and more countries to further discuss and practice sustainable investment. Incorporation of environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) factors into investment decision-making has been widely embraced and become a consensus among market regulators and participants. In its early days, sustainable investment in China was mainly implemented by banks in extending credits. In 2020, China made an ambitious pledge to be carbon neutral by 2060. This will drive the acceleration of sustainable investment in the Chinese capital market, mushrooming of new sustainable investment products, and acceptance of ESG and sustainable investment by mainstream investors.
China Sustainable Investment Review 2020 (this “Report”) straightened out the status quo and size of sustainable investment in China based on public information. According to China SIF’s research on publicly available information, in China, the balance of green credit was RMB 11.55 trillion; the size of pan-ESG mutual funds was RMB 120.972 billion; the total amount of green bonds issued was RMB 1.16 trillion; the total amount of social bonds issued was RMB 782.776 billion; and the actual capital contribution of green industry funds was RMB 97.661 billion.
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This Report, focusing on the sustainable investment practice of securities investment funds, summarized the international development trend of sustainable investment, reviewed the progress of China’s sustainable investment policies in recent years, sorted out existing pan-ESG stock indices, mutual funds, wealth management products, analyzed and discussed the attitude of individual investors and institutional investors towards sustainable investment, and interviewed ESG fund managers.