China’s green loan market sees notable expansion in ’23

China’s green loans in local and foreign currencies totalled 30.08 trillion yuan ($4.23 trillion) at the end of 2023, marking a 36.5 per cent increase from the previous year, Xinhua reported on Tuesday, citing the country’s central bank.

The People’s Bank of China added that the growth rate of green loans surpassed that of all other types of loans by 26.4 percentage points by the end of 2023. Out of the total green loans, 67.3 per cent were allocated to projects aimed at reducing carbon emissions.

The balance of green loans for infrastructure upgrading reached 13.09 trillion yuan, showing a year-on-year increase of 33.2 per cent. Clean energy loans reached 7.87 trillion yuan, marking a 38.5 per cent increase.

China has announced its commitment to peak carbon dioxide emissions by 2030 and achieve carbon neutrality by 2060 as part of its efforts to pursue high-quality and green growth.