On February 28, 2025, the kick-off meeting for the China Council for International Cooperation on Environment and Development (CCICED) Special Policy Study (SPS) on "Green Finance for a Comprehensive Green Transformation of the Society and Economy" was held in Beijing. This year's research will focus on "Financing the Green and Low-Carbon Transition of High-Carbon Industries and Regions".

The meeting was moderated by Wu Huimin, Executive Dean of the China International Capital Corporation (CICC) Global Institute. Liu Shijin, the Chinese Chief Advisor of CCICED, and Scott Vaughan, the International Chief Advisor of CCICED, attended the meeting and delivered opening remarks. CCICED Secretariat provided an overview of CCICED's Special Policy Study.

Peng Wensheng, Chinese Lead of the SPS, the Dean of the CICC Global Institute and the head of CICC's Research Department, and Chen Ji, the SPS Coordinator and Managing Director of the CICC Global Institute, jointly reported on the 2025 work plan and preliminary research results around the theme of "Financing the Green and Low-Carbon Transition of High-Carbon Industries and Regions". Peng Wensheng firstly noted that due to the impact of geopolitical factors, high-carbon industries will face greater challenges in further reducing green premiums. Against this backdrop, transition finance, as a policy-based financial instrument, needs to play a more significant role. Peng Wensheng stated that transition finance should not only support technological progress in the transition from high-carbon to low-carbon but also mitigate the economic and social impacts of the transition. Chen Ji then said that the project team will conduct research on innovative finance, non-performing asset handling, inclusive finance, and the integration of fiscal and financial policies, to propose policy recommendations on how finance can effectively support the green and low-carbon transition of high-carbon industries and regions in China.

Zhang Jieqing, Chief Representative of Natural Resources Defense Council's Beijing Office, Country Director of China Program, coordinated the expert discussion session. Experts from the Research Bureau of the People's Bank of China, CICC Global Institute, China Iron & Steel Research Institute, the China Cement Association, the CIB Institute for Carbon Neutrality and Finance, the China Orient Asset Management Co.,Ltd, and Ant Group participated in the discussion. The attending experts provided valuable suggestions for the project team's next steps regarding the core pain points of developing transition finance, the transformation paths of traditional industrial sectors, and how inclusive finance can participate in the transition. More than 40 members of the project team, expert consultants, representatives of the CCICED Secretariat, and partners attended the kick-off meeting.