Financing China's Energy Transition: Decarbonization Targets and Pathways for Carbon-intensive Industries Workshop

China's commitment to peak carbon emissions before 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 necessitates an unprecedented energy transition, particularly within carbon-intensive industries (e.g., steel, cement, chemicals, and power generation).  These sectors account for over 80% of the nation's industrial CO₂ emissions, yet their decarbonization faces dual challenges: breakthroughs in critical technologies (e.g., scaling green hydrogen, commercializing carbon capture) and massive financing gaps. To accelerate this transition, China is rapidly developing a transition finance ecosystem to support green and low-carbon transition of carbon-intensive industries.

Although enterprises and financial institutions are increasingly developing transition plans, many fail to align with sectoral decarbonization requirements under China's dual carbon goals and the Paris Agreement. Three critical issues demand urgent resolution in scaling transition finance:

  1. Sectoral Pathways: Developing science-based transition roadmaps addressing technological bottlenecks and financing needs
  2. Target Alignment: Setting corporate transition targets consistent with both China's dual carbon goals and the Paris Agreement's 1.5°C and 2°C trajectories
  3. Financial Enabling: Implementing bank-led financial plans by anchoring transition targets and capital allocation to industrial decarbonization pathways.

This workshop co-host by Institute of Finance and Sustainability (IFS), BloombergNEF (BNEF) and Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI) brings together policymakers, industry leaders, financial institutions, and researchers to co-develop evidence-based solutions for overcoming these challenges and advancing effective transition finance.

 

Time:

14:00-16:30 Beijing time, 8:00-10:30 am CET time

Date:

July 8 (Tuesday), 2025

Format: 

In-Person (Beijing) and Online ( Link will share out after registration) 

Venue:

Beijing  (The specific address will be notified in the confirmation email)

Language:

Simultaneous interpretation - Chinese and English

 

Beijing Time

CET Time

Agenda

Moderator:

Cheng Lin, Director of Center for International Collaborations, IFS; Head of CASI Secretariat

BJ: 14:00-14:15

CET: 08:00-08:15

Welcome &Introduction

Cheng Lin, Director of Center for International Collaborations, IFS; Head of CASI Secretariat

Yushen Liu, BNEF Co-Head of APAC Sales

BJ: 14:15-15:15

CET: 08:15-09:15

Presentation

Technology Pathways for Energy Transition and New Concepts for Banks Transition Goal Setting

Jonathan Luan, BNEF Research Head of Finance and Investment for Transition

Benchmark Pathways for Decarbonization of China's Carbon-intensive Industries in the Context of Transition Finance

Fang Guo, Researcher, IFS

CRTT (Carbon Reduction Target-setting Tool): An Enabling Instrument for Scaling Up Transition Finance

Jialin Zhao, Researcher, IFS

BJ: 15:15-16:00

CET: 09:15-10:00

Panel Discussion

Moderator: Yang Wang, BNEF Market Specialist for ESG and AI

Panelists:

  • Jonathan Luan, BNEF Research Head of Finance and Investment for Transition
  • Adam Ng, Advisor and Project Director, CASI
  • Shanning Dong, the Green Finance Department of Jiangsu Bank
  • Assel Nurakhmetova, Director of Carbon Platform Department, Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC)
  • Via Azlia Widiyadi, Research Associate. Climate Policy Research Unit, Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), Indonesia

BJ: 16:00-16:15

CET: 10:00-10:15

Q&A

BJ: 16:15-16:30

CET: 10:15-10:30

Wrap up & Conclusion

  • Yushen Liu, BNEF Co-Head of APAC Sales
  • Cheng Lin, Director of Center for International Collaborations, IFS; Head of CASI Secretariat

 

 Registration now: https://jinshuju.com/f/buDlP6