On December 12, Yu Jian, Deputy Director of the Credit Market Department of the People's Bank of China (PBOC), outlined the central bank's efforts in green finance during a press conference.
The PBOC has made progress in three key areas:
1. **Policy Framework Enhancement** The central bank has led the formulation of policies to strengthen financial support for green and low-carbon development, aligning green finance with China's ecological goals. It released the *Green Finance Support Project Catalog (2025 Edition)* to standardize green financial products, including loans, bonds, and insurance. Collaboration with industrial and environmental departments has been strengthened to establish key project databases and financing mechanisms.
2. **Diversification of Financial Products and Markets** Financial institutions are encouraged to expand green credit offerings, with innovations such as eco-environment-oriented development (EOD) loans and sustainability-linked loans. The PBOC is also studying standardized pledge financing for resource-based rights, including forest rights, water rights, and carbon emission rights, to meet diverse financing needs in green sectors. Additionally, direct financing channels for green projects have been broadened through products like carbon-neutral bonds, transition bonds, and blue bonds.
3. **Strengthened Incentives and Assessments** The PBOC introduced an 800 billion yuan carbon reduction support tool to boost funding for clean energy, energy efficiency, and carbon reduction technologies. Financial institutions are evaluated on their green finance performance, covering loans, bonds, product innovation, and internal management, to foster continuous policy improvement.
Under joint efforts by financial and industrial sectors, green finance has achieved significant results. Over the past five years, green loans have grown at over 20% annually. By Q3 2025, outstanding green loans reached 43.51 trillion yuan, up 22.9% year-on-year, while green bond issuance totaled 4.95 trillion yuan, with outstanding bonds at 2.29 trillion yuan—ranking among the highest globally. The carbon reduction support tool has facilitated 1.38 trillion yuan in loans for emission reduction projects.