On May 25, 2023, China Venture Capital Alliance organized the Fifth China Equity Responsible Investment Summit in Shanghai, with support from Prosperity Investment, Lujiazui Financial City Development Foundation, and China Clean Air Policy Partnership (CCAPP). On the theme of “Building an Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Investment Ecosystem, Stimulating Value Creation,” this year’s meeting aimed to expand the role of responsible investment in promoting green development. Representatives from Shanghai Free-Trade Zone Lujiazui Administration, China Investment Association, PRI China, Energy Foundation China, Tsinghua University, CCAPP, CDP Greater China, and more than 30 investment firms discussed what the challenges and opportunities of responsible investment are with China’s dual goals for carbon peaking and neutrality, how to localize green investment, as well as how to facilitate regional low carbon transition with financial tools.

Zou Ji, CEO and President of Energy Foundation China, was invited to deliver a keynote speech on the industrial and financial opportunities with the dual carbon goals. He said that China’s incremental investment demand in power, transportation, and building sectors will exceed 100 trillion RMB ($14 trillion), in order to accelerate the development of low carbon technology and achieve faster energy transition. The booming low carbon investment will become a new engine to drive China’s high-quality economic development, according to him, who also said that low carbon solutions such as renewable energy, energy storage, electric vehicles, digital technologies, and low carbon buildings can help China meet its growing energy demand and achieve balanced socio-economic development by attracting investment and encouraging consumption.

In the afternoon, Energy Foundation China, Prosperity Investment, and CCAPP jointly held a closed-door seminar on decarbonized growth. Focusing on the connection between green industrial development and investment demand, participants exchanged ideas on what the role of equity investment is in industrial transition and how to incentivize financial stakeholders to invest in low carbon action. Representatives from 20 private equity/venture capital firms attended the discussion.