【ESG News】Global Trends Biweekly Newsletter Issue 36 (2025.6.16-2025.6.29)

Hong Kong China ESG trends

“Greater Bay Area Connects the World for Carbon Neutrality” Event was held in Hong Kong

20 June, the “Greater Bay Area Connects the World for Carbon Neutrality” 2025 Shenzhen-Hong Kong-Macao Thematic Exchange Event was held at Kowloon Bay's Zero Carbon Park, with Secretary for Environment and Ecology Tse Chin-wan and Shenzhen Overseas Friendship Association Vice President Qin Jingteng attending and delivering speeches in person, while Director Yan Shidong of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment's Education Center and China's inaugural Climate Change Envoy Xie Zhenhua addressed the event via video link.

Source: https://www.hkcd.com.hk/hkcdweb/content/2025/06/20/content_8700526.html

Lianhe Green Insights

As a professional organization deeply engaged in China’s carbon market, Lianhe Green fully recognizes the critical importance of regional collaboration in advancing the carbon neutrality agenda. We look forward to contributing our expertise to actively support carbon reduction efforts across the Greater Bay Area and beyond, working together to shape a future where ecological green and Bay Area blue thrive in harmony.

International ESG trends

ICMA announces a Practitioner’s Guide on Sustainable Bonds for Nature, alongside updates to existing guidance

26 June 2025 On the occasion of its Annual General Meeting, the Executive Committee of the Green, Social, Sustainability and Sustainability-Linked Bond Principles (the “Principles”), supported by the International Capital Market Association (ICMA), announces guidance: Sustainable Bonds for Nature: a Practitioner’s Guide, alongside other important updates.

This Guide is meant to be used in conjunction with the Principles and is intended for use by all types of issuers (private and public sector). It acts as an additional thematic guidance for use of proceeds (UoP) bonds such as green bonds or sustainability bonds to finance projects supporting nature, considering that such activities span all eligible green project categories. It also provides issuers of green bonds with proceeds exclusively applied to finance nature-related projects with the option to use the secondary designation of a “Nature Bond”.

Source: https://www.icmagroup.org/News/news-in-brief/the-executive-committee-of-the-principles-announces-a-practitioners-guide-on-sustainable-bonds-for-nature-alongside-updates-to-existing-guidance/

Lianhe Green Insights

The newly released Practice Guide for Sustainability Bond Issuance on Nature Themes provides detailed know-how on financing nature projects through sustainability bonds and is an important addition to the GSSS bond market. Other updates in this release also further refine the guidance for green empowerment projects to support the flow of funds to a wider range of sectors.

 

GRI launches Climate Change and Energy Standards to drive corporate accountability and deliver accessible, decision-useful disclosure

Recognizing that an escalating climate crisis calls for integrated and global solutions, GRI has launched new Climate Change and Energy Standards to empower organizations to take accountability for their impacts and accelerate climate action.

Ÿ   GRI 102: Climate Change emphasizes that achieving substantial reductions in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions is the primary mitigation step organizations can take. It sets reporting expectations based on science-based targets and global climate goals – while incorporating ‘just transition’ metrics covering impacts on workers, local communities and Indigenous Peoples. 

Ÿ   GRI 103: Energy comprehensively addresses an organization’s energy-related impacts and activities. With disclosures on decarbonization efforts, renewable and non-renewable energy use, as well as where and how energy reductions occur, it positions responsible energy use as a central component of a company’s approach to climate change mitigation.  

Source: https://www.globalreporting.org/news/news-center/new-climate-standards-can-unlock-actionable-and-streamlined-reporting-on-impacts/

Lianhe Green Insights

GRI's new standards streamlines reporting for companies and integrate “just transition” and social impact into disclosures while enhancing energy data transparency. Thereby better informing decisions by businesses, regulators, and stakeholders.

 

IFRS Foundation publishes guidance on disclosures about transition plans

The IFRS Foundation has published a new guidance document Disclosing information about an entity’s climate-related transition, including information about transition plans, in accordance with IFRS S2 as part of its commitment to supporting the implementation of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (ISSB Standards). The document builds on disclosure-specific material developed by the Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT), for which the IFRS Foundation took responsibility in 2024.

Source: https://www.ifrs.org/news-and-events/news/2025/06/ifrs-publishes-guidance-disclosures-transition-plans/

Lianhe Green Insights

This guidance tackles the challenge of inconsistent transition plan disclosures—a burden for both reporting entities and investors—while serving as a reference for organizations implementing IFRS S2 for climate transition reporting. Its purpose is to assist preparers in identifying material information to disclose about their climate transition strategies and objectives.

 

UK government issued Developing an oversight regime for assurance of sustainability-related financial disclosures - Consultation

25 June 2025, UK government issued Developing an oversight regime for assurance of sustainability-related financial disclosures – Consultation. This consultation seeks views on a proposal for the planned Audit, Reporting and Governance Authority to be given responsibility for creating a voluntary registration regime for entities that offer third-party assurance services for sustainability-related disclosures. The proposed regime aims to drive trust in the UK sustainability assurance market and support companies to easily identify appropriately qualified sustainability assurance providers.

Source: https://ditresearch.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_4ORirYG9L02Mm58

Lianhe Green Insights

Lianhe Green is pleased to see this important consultation on developing an oversight regime for the assurance of sustainability-related financial disclosures. We believe this is a timely and necessary step to enhance the credibility and reliability of ESG and carbon-related data. Given the technical complexity of such disclosures, we hope to see Hong Kong follow with a similar framework that recognises the need for qualified verifiers with deep environmental expertise and domain-specific knowledge. Lianhe Green looks forward to contributing to this evolving landscape through our technical capabilities and practical experience.

 

 

Mainland China ESG trends

Ministry of Ecology and Environment Releases Progress Report on Product Carbon Footprint Management System Development (2025)

The Progress Report has systematically sorted out the progress of the work of various departments in the field of product carbon footprint since 2024, introduced the effectiveness of the relevant work in four aspects, namely, establishing a sound management system, building a multi-party working pattern, promoting international mutual trust in the rules, and strengthening capacity-building, and made an outlook on the future construction of China's product carbon footprint management system. The Progress Report shows that significant progress has been made in the construction of China's product carbon footprint management system in 2024, and more than 70 national standards and 100 group standards have been issued and developed.

Source: https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywdt/xwfb/202506/t20250625_1121882.shtml

Lianhe Green Insights

In 2024, China's ecological and environmental quality as a whole will continue to improve, with environmental indicators in many fields steadily improving and the environmental security situation stabilizing. At the same time, the energy structure will be optimized at an accelerated pace, the proportion of clean energy will be significantly increased, and the scale of carbon market transactions will be steadily expanded, providing strong support for the realization of the dual-carbon goal.

 

The National Standard of Green Financial Terminology was released

The General Administration of Market Supervision and Administration of the State Council and the National Standardization Administration of the People's Republic of China released the national standard of Green Financial Terminology (GB/T 45490-2025), which was drafted by the People's Bank of China, and is the first national standard in the field of green finance in China, which is very important and guiding role for the high-quality development of green finance in the country, and for the establishment and management of the green financial standard system. The standard is the first national standard in the field of green finance in China, which has a very important guiding role in the high-quality development of domestic green finance and the establishment and management of green finance standard system.

Source: http://www.greenfinance.org.cn/displaynews.php?id=4555

Lianhe Green Insights

The release of the National Standard for Green Financial Terms provides clear definitions and norms for the field of green finance, helping to harmonize industry standards, reduce information asymmetry and enhance market transparency. This is of great significance in guiding the flow of funds to projects that truly meet the requirements of environmental protection and sustainable development, and promoting the healthy development of the green finance market. At the same time, it also provides a standardized basis for investment, financing, management, scientific research, teaching, communication and other activities in related fields, and promotes the improvement and maturity of the green financial system.