【ESG News】Global Trends Biweekly Newsletter Issue 62 (2026.6.22-2026.7.5)

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International ESG trends

The 10th Ministerial on Climate Action held in Brussels

The 10th Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA) convened in Brussels, Belgium. Huang Runqiu, Minister of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, co-chaired the meeting together with Wopke Hoekstra, European Commissioner for Climate, Net Zero and Clean Growth, and Julie Dabrusin, Minister of Environment, Climate Change and Natural Resources of Canada.

Huang Runqiu pointed out that 2026 marks the start of a new decade under the Paris Agreement. The UN Climate Change Conference in Antalya (COP31) should build on outcomes of previous conferences, uphold the right direction, deepen exchanges and cooperation and create favorable conditions. It needs to address long-standing issues including insufficient emission reduction efforts and climate finance support from developed countries, tackle new challenges such as unilateralism and protectionism that drive up climate action costs worldwide especially for developing nations and hamper international collaboration on climate response, so as to advance the effective implementation of the Paris Agreement.

Source: https://www.mee.gov.cn/ywdt/hjywnews/202606/t20260624_1160171.shtml

Lianhe Green Insights

The 10th MoCA serves as a multilateral climate communication platform. China clearly stated its stance of upholding multilateralism and fulfilling its carbon peaking and carbon neutrality commitments. The conference addresses core conflicts such as inadequate emission cuts and climate funding gaps from developed countries, and opposes unilateralism and protectionism to build consensus for COP31 negotiations. It deepens green cooperation between China and the EU, China and Canada via this mechanism, facilitates exchanges of low-carbon technologies and ESG standards, and improves a fair and win-win global climate governance system through practical actions.

ICMA Releases Updated Supplementary Documents for Sustainable Bonds, Refines Transition Finance Rules and Compares Global Mainstream Green Bond Standards

The Executive Committee of the Principles under the International Capital Market Association (ICMA) has concurrently issued three core market publications. First, supplementary FAQ guidance for the Climate Transition Bond Guidelines, which elaborates issuance rules for hard-to-abate sectors and mitigates greenwashing risks. Second, a comparison report between the voluntary Green Bond Principles (GBP) and the statutory European Green Bond Standard (EuGBS), outlining similarities and discrepancies of the two mainstream frameworks to cut cross-border issuance compliance costs. Third, a research paper exploring structural demand for sustainable bonds, which unpacks allocation logic from institutional investors’ perspective to help issuers optimize financing frameworks, and further establishes unified global practical standards for sustainable bonds.

Source: https://www.icmagroup.org/News/news-in-brief/the-principles-publish-complementary-guidance-for-climate-transition-bonds-a-comparison-of-their-standards-with-the-eugb-and-a-paper-on-structural-demand-for-sustainable-bonds/

Lianhe Green Insights

ICMA has released three publications including supplementary guidance for climate transition bonds, a comparison report on the EU Green Bond Standard and research on market demand. The documents fill practical gaps in transition financing for hard-to-abate sectors, draw clear lines between green and transition projects, and effectively curb greenwashing. They sort out differences between the two mainstream green bond frameworks to lower compliance costs for cross-border bond issuance, offer issuance references from investors’ perspective, advance unified standards across the global sustainable bond market, and support the standardized development of financing for low-carbon transition.

Mainland China ESG trends

Measures for the Implementation of the Minimum Consumption Target of Renewable Energy and the Responsibility Weight System for Renewable Energy Power Consumption

The National Development and Reform Commission, MIIT, Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development and Ministry of Transport jointly issued Decree No.42, namely the Measures for the Implementation of the Minimum Consumption Target of Renewable Energy and the Responsibility Weight System for Renewable Energy Power Consumption, which shall come into force on August 1, 2026. The document establishes a two-way rigid assessment mechanism covering enterprises and regional authorities, opens up compliance channels via market-based tools such as green power and green certificates, and unifies quantitative accounting standards. Reward and punishment provisions consolidate all parties’ green energy consumption obligations, drive low-carbon transformation of energy-intensive industries, optimize cross-provincial allocation of new energy resources, and deliver robust institutional support for hitting the target share of non-fossil energy consumption.

Source: https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xwdt/tzgg/202606/t20260625_1406081.html

Lianhe Green Insights

The rollout of these Implementation Measures establishes a dual assessment mechanism covering enterprises’ renewable energy consumption share and provincial renewable energy consumption weight, supported by clear accounting standards and market-based compliance channels. Rigorous reward and punishment rules enforce green energy consumption obligations on local governments and energy-intensive enterprises. The green power and green certificate markets facilitate optimized cross-provincial allocation of renewable energy, drive energy conservation and carbon reduction across industries, and deliver comprehensive institutional backing for fulfilling non-fossil energy consumption targets and steadily advancing carbon peaking and carbon neutrality transition.

Circular on Issuing the 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of a Modern Energy System

The 15th Five-Year Plan for the Development of a Modern Energy System sets out core targets: a clean, low-carbon, safe and efficient modern energy system will take initial shape by 2030. The comprehensive energy production capacity will reach 5.8 billion tonnes of standard coal. The power system will feature enhanced complementarity, mutual support, safety and resilience, with diversified and controllable energy imports. Coal and oil consumption will peak, and the share of non-fossil energy consumption will rise to 25%. Wind and solar power will account for over 50% of total installed power capacity and become the dominant power sources; non-fossil energy generation will make up 50% of total electricity output and take the leading position in power supply. Construction will be accelerated for a robust, resilient, green, low-carbon, integrated, smart and efficient modern energy infrastructure network, and a new power system will be initially established. Key technologies and equipment of the energy industrial chain will achieve overall self-reliance, placing China among the world’s leading nations in energy technological innovation. Market and pricing mechanisms compatible with the modern energy system will be rapidly improved, and a unified national power market system will be basically completed.

Source: https://www.ndrc.gov.cn/xwdt/tzgg/202606/t20260625_1406081.html

Lianhe Green Insights

The newly issued 15th Five-Year Plan for the Modern Energy System outlines a clear roadmap for energy transition over the next five years. The Plan scales up non-fossil energy sources including wind and solar power, balances energy security with carbon peaking and carbon neutrality goals, and coordinates low-carbon retrofits of traditional energy and the development of new energy storage. The policy will directly boost investment in green industries, refine ESG disclosure and green revenue accounting standards, channel market capital into low-carbon sectors, support enterprises in carrying out energy conservation and carbon reduction transition in an orderly manner, and consolidate the foundation for domestic sustainable development.

The Executive Meeting of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment reviewed and approved in principle the Guiding Opinions on Promoting Diversified Investment in Scientific and Technological Innovation in the Field of Ecology and Environment.

The meeting pointed out that establishing a diversified investment mechanism for scientific and technological innovation in ecology and environment constitutes an effective measure to boost the supply capacity and industrialization level of such innovation. Efforts shall be made to speed up the formation of a diversified investment landscape for scientific and technological innovation, improve fiscal guidance mechanisms, expand the supply of financial products, attract social resources and realize efficient allocation of innovation resources. A full-chain supervision system covering project initiation, fund utilization, process supervision and performance evaluation shall be refined, with intensive penetrating supervision and dynamic monitoring strengthened, so as to further enhance the supporting and leading role of scientific and technological innovation in building a Beautiful China.

Source:  https://www.mee.gov.cn/xxgk/hjyw/202607/t20260701_1160745.shtml

Lianhe Green Insights

The guiding opinions reviewed and adopted by the Ministry of Ecology and Environment mark a substantial shift in China’s green and low-carbon development from policy-driven to technology-driven growth. The document unlocks funding channels for ecological and environmental scientific innovation, leveraging fiscal incentives and green finance to mobilize social capital. The diversified investment mechanism can effectively fill funding gaps for environmental technology R&D. A full-chain fund supervision system standardizes fund usage and prevents resource waste, accelerates the application of pollution control and carbon reduction technologies, boosts the development of the environmental protection industry, and consolidates the fundamental support for building a Beautiful China through scientific and technological innovation.