The first Annual Meeting on “Financing Green Technologies” successfully took place at Beijing International Wealth Center on 16 May 2021. The meeting was organised by the Institute of Finance and Sustainability (IFS), the Professional Financial Committee of the Expert Committee of the All-China Federation of Returned Overseas Chinese, and Zhijiang Venture Capital Research Institute of Zhejiang Province.

The Center for Financing Nature-based Solutions of IFS and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) organized the sub-forum “Opportunities and Challenges Facing the Blue Industry” at the meeting and released the report “Preliminary Study of the Blue Economy Industry: Aquatic Farming”.

During his keynote speech regarding ocean governance, Professor Sun Song, former director of the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, chairperson of the Chinese Society for Oceanology and Limnology and member of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, analyzed the importance of healthy oceans to the blue economy. He proposed the launch of scientific research to support and manage oceans from the perspectives of resources and ecology. According to the proposal of Chinese President Xi Jinping regarding global ocean governance, marine ecological civilization and a maritime community with a shared future, the protection of global marine biological resources is the national requirement of a responsible giant such as China. Being a maritime power is not about taking but about coordinating joint maritime development. Investing in aquaculture abroad may protect maritime resources, ensure staple-food safety and promote local development. 

Photo 1 Professor Sun Song, former director of the Institute of Oceanology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, chairperson of the Chinese Society for Oceanology and Limnology and member of the International Eurasian Academy of Sciences, analyzed the importance of healthy oceans to the blue economy.

Professor Liu Zhuguang, vice-dean of the School of Economics at the Ocean University of China, reviewed the development history of the human maritime economy and analyzed the different stages of maritime civilization and the current characteristics of the blue economy in each country. Against this background, he interpreted the strategies of the 14th Five-Year Plan to build an ecological civilization and a maritime power. The five-pronged strategy proposed by China, covering maritime economic development, ocean governance, maritime culture, maritime safety and the building of a maritime ecological civilization, echoes the five-pronged sustainable-development strategy covering economy, politics, culture, society and ecology to provide guidance for the development of the blue economy.

Photo 2 Professor Liu Zhuguang, vice-dean of the School of Economics at the Ocean University of China, reviewed the development history of the human maritime economy and analyzed the different stages of maritime civilization and the current characteristics of the blue economy in each country.

During the session concerning the blue industry and technology, Cui He, president of the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance, went through the current and future development of the aquatic-product processing industry in China. He remarked that the consumption and production structures of China’s aquatic products were undergoing changes. China’s aquatic-product imports were increasing continuously in recent years and growing year on year. Meanwhile, China was the world’s largest aquatic-product importer and exporter. Due to the limited cultivation space, to satisfy the demand of growing consumption and green transformation, the future development of China’s aquacultural industry would include large deep-sea cages and industrialisation.

Photo 3 Cui He, president of the China Aquatic Products Processing and Marketing Alliance, went through the current and future development of the aquatic-product processing industry in China.

Professor Cao Ling, special research fellow at the School of Oceanography of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, specifically discussed the challenges facing the global aquatic-product industry from the environmental and resource perspectives. She mentioned that in response to the challenges, the most promising culture models that the aquacultural industry could consider include: 1) a general multi-layered and -nutrient culture model; 2) a land-based recirculating aquaculture model; and 3) a deep- and open-sea aquaculture model. In addition to aquaculture models, technological innovation could be encouraged, such as reducing the reliance of the aquacultural industry on wild fry and coarse fish for conventional fodder through the use of alternative raw materials. Furthermore, the management aspect could be strengthened and systematic certification labels and evaluation programs created, so as to generate sustainable and fair production demand for aquaculture.

Photo 4 Professor Cao Ling, special research fellow at the School of Oceanography of Shanghai Jiao Tong University, specifically discussed the challenges facing the global aquatic-product industry from the environmental and resource perspectives.

Fang Qing, general manager China of the Aquaculture Stewardship Council (ASC), introduced the current development of the certification of aquatic products. He mentioned that certification was a kind of business collaboration with businesses or business consortia as units, and the end goal was to get certified products onto the market and receive more support from the consumers. Consumer awareness was indeed rising in China: in the 80s, people only expected to have enough food in their stomachs, while in the 90s and 00s people wanted to eat better, whereas now people aspired to being environmentally friendly. And such changes were noticeable in China: ASC-certified sustainable products were primarily imported aquatic products in the first five years, which changed to domestic aquatic products in the last three years. This illustrated the rise of sustainable domestic aquatic products – a result of the shared choice of consumers and business platforms.

Photo 5 Fang Qing, general manager China of the ASC, introduced the current development of the certification of aquatic products.

Zhuan Meijia, assistant research fellow at the Natural Capital Investment and Financing Center of the IFS, introduced the Initial Study of the Blue Economy Industry: Aquatic Farming. The study focused on the resource and environmental issues facing the aquacultural industry and went through related technologies developed in response to these issues. It also discussed a case of finance-supported sustainable cultivation in China before briefly going into the categorisation of industries of the blue economy.

Photo 6 Zhuan Meijia, assistant research fellow at the Natural Capital Investment and Financing Center of the IFS, introduced the Initial Study of Blue Economy Industry: Aquatic Farming.

 Later, Dr Zhang Shengmao, from the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences and associate research fellow at the East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, introduced the development in electronic-monitoring systems for fishing vessels and went through the latest advanced products and technical solutions and applications. Against the general background of the global response to climate change and wind-energy development, Liang Wanliang, China director of Global Wind Energy Council, looked into new opportunities facing offshore wind energy from the perspectives of economy, environment and society.

Photo 7 Dr. Zhang Shengmao, from the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences and associate research fellow at the East China Sea Fisheries Research Institute, introduced the development in electronic-monitoring system for fishing vessels and went through the latest advanced products and technical solutions and applications.

Photo 8 Liang Wanliang, China director of Global Wind Energy Council, looked into new opportunities facing offshore wind energy from the perspectives of economy, environment and society against the general background of the global response to climate change and wind-energy development.

During the blue-finance session, Huang Anqian, senior financial sector specialist at the East Asia Department of the ADB, introduced the key focus of the ADB in China’s sustainable development and the main models it supported, as well as emphasized the pivotal role that policy banks played in driving sustainable development. He remarked that where thecurrent business models of the market could not support highly innovative projects, high growth, highly exemplary and highly replicable with strong development, the ADB could offer long-term financing support with low interest rates. Regarding the collaboration models, the ADB could lend loans to financial institutions in China through its Ministry of Finance or offer loans, sector investment or credit expansion directly through the local governments or their platforms or financial platforms. The ADB could also support the development of blue finance through the sharing of the know-how. Within the framework of blue finance, the ADB hoped to create an inclusive life and business opportunities for sustainable fishery. In terms of ecological-system management, the ADB hoped to conserve and restore coastal and marine ecosystems and sustainable rivers. Meanwhile, pollution control primarily focused on reducing land-based source marine pollution and controlling plastic pollution. The sustainable development of river-mouth and coastal infrastructure may be improved through innovative construction of sustainable infrastructure.

Photo 9 Huang Anqian, senior financial sector specialist at East Asia Department of the ADB, introduced the key focus of the ADB in China’s sustainable development and the main models it supported, as well as emphasized the pivotal role that policy banks played in driving sustainable development. 

Lin Zhiqian, director of Managing Office of Blue Finance Project at Bank of Qingdao (BQD), introduced the experience and thinking of BQD as an explorer in blue finance in China. He mentioned that the work of BQD included: 1) establishing a corresponding body, that is, an office for the development of the blue-finance project; 2) sounding out the blue-finance market in Shandong Province of China and optimizing the Framework of Bank of Qingdao for Blue Bonds based on the blue-asset categorization guide of the International Finance Corporation; and 3) exploring multi-channel collaboration and signing and pledging to observe the Sustainable Blue Economy Finance Initiative of the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative. He believes blue finance was just getting started and there were no standards or industry framework – unlike green finance, which had a national industrial catalogue – so more investment institutions and professional technical bodies needed to get involved in its development. 

Photo 10 Lin Zhiqian, director of Managing Office of Blue Finance Project at BQD, introduced the experience and thinking of BQD as an explorer in blue finance in China.

Finally, Dr. Zhao Peng, associate research fellow at the State Key Laboratory of Marine Resources Utilization in the South China Sea of Hainan University, introduced the concept of blue carbon, its application at home and abroad and its prospects in China. He mentioned that policy action on blue carbon was taking place, as seen in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement. However, when it comes to blue carbon, multiple ecological-system services must be considered. According to the assessment system of the United Nations, carbon service was only one of the regulatory services, in addition to which supply and cultural services must be coordinated and considered as a whole. He remarked that the current work focus should be on the implementation of all existing policies. Government and market behaviour must be differentiated, with the government devising market mechanisms and the market launching specific activities. Blue carbon was not optional but necessary. 

Photo 11 Dr. Zhao Peng, associate research fellow at the State Key Laboratory of Marine Resources Utilization in South China Sea of Hainan University, introduced the concept of blue carbon, its application at home and abroad and its prospects in China.

The meeting was held both on and offline, and lively Q&A sessions and discussions took place at the physical venue. Over three-dozen participants joined both the virtual and physical meeting rooms, and the livestream was viewed 1,352 times.

The successful staging of the meeting is the first step taken by the Natural Capital Investment and Financing Center of the IFS in the field of blue economy. The center will continue to go through and share technologies and challenges related to the sustainable transformation of different marine industries, so as to contribute the know-how to the efforts of policy and finance in their support for the blue economy.