CRI听力:Eco-Forum Finances China's Green Transformation

A global ecological forum is set to officially open today in the southern Chinese city of Guiyang, with Vice-President Li Yuanchao set to lead the Chinese delegation to the event.

CRI's Luo Yu has more from Guizhou's capital.

The annual conference of the Eco-Forum Global is an international platform designed to promote the development of green economies.

One of the major issues at this year's event is going to be financing.

Mark Halle, vice president of the International Institute for Sustainable Development, says getting the corporate world to think long-term about the environment is key as the seeking of short-term results is incompatible with the requirements of sustainable development.

So we have to focus on the sorts of the incentives that today's reward, short-term profit, short-term benefit, short-term vision, and instead replace them with mechanisms that reward longer-term investment."

One concept to develop a long-term mindset for a green economy is the creation of so-called Green Bonds, which is a concept the State Council, China's cabinet, endorsed last year.
Ma Jun is the chief economist of the People's Bank of China's Research Bureau.

'Green bonds can lower the cost of financing projects. Because the bond issuers are usually institutions with relatively higher credit ratings, this can reduce financing costs. Green bonds can also help local government financing platforms deal with issues connected to the maturity of bonds. "

He adds that the average maturity for local government bonds is around 3 years, yet it may require more than 10 years to service the debt. This sort of mismatch leads to financial risk. Green bonds will mitigate the risks to a large extent.

A number of countries around the world have looked to a public-private-partnership model to develop their green economies.

Simon Zadek with the UN's Environment Program says he feels that even though the state here in China has been taking the lead on environmental infrastructure projects, there is plenty of room for the private sector in the future.

"There will be a growth in public-private-partnerships to finance infrastructural needs that have historically been funded by the public sector. Private capital in China needs to understand that by being patient, they will be investing in these future business opportunities. And I think that presents optimism even although there are clearly shorter term challenges."

On top of financing, this year's Eco Forum is also expected to tackle a range of issues including eco-civilization, nature conservation, green urbanization and climate change.

For CRI, I'm Luo Yu in Guiyang.