WFF, GGGI, and ARE jointly held a special session on financing for sustainable agro - food productio

On October 30, the 2024 World Animal Welfare and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Conference - Sustainable Agriculture and Food Production Financing Special Session was held at the Jinhai Lake International Convention and Exhibition Center in Pinggu, Beijing. The conference was jointly hosted by the World Financial Forum (WFF), the Global Green Growth Initiative (GGGI), and the Asian Research and Engagement (ARE). It brought together leading domestic and foreign financial and sustainable development experts and representatives from many related financial institutions, scientific research universities, industry associations, and enterprises. From the transition finance framework to green financial products for animal husbandry, from commercial banks' green finance to support agricultural sustainable development practices to the key points of sustainable development that financial institutions are concerned about, to promoting corporate sustainable production financing with animal welfare, a comprehensive discussion was conducted in many fields.

Feng Xingke, founder and secretary-general of the World Financial Forum (WFF) and director of the BRICS Think Tank, emphasized in his welcome speech the close connection between humans and animals as a community of life in addressing the challenge of global climate change. He particularly mentioned President Xi Jinping's ecological civilization thought, emphasizing the importance of protecting animal welfare and promoting a sustainable agricultural and food system. He proposed to jointly promote the development of global green finance and a sustainable agricultural and food system by improving environmental protection laws and regulations, advocating green consumption, innovating green financial products and services, and using digital technology to improve the efficiency of green investment and financing.

Li Xinxing, Special Advisor to the Director-General of the Global Green Growth Organization and Representative in China, pointed out in her keynote speech that agriculture is both a victim and a contributor to climate change, so it is crucial to promote sustainable agriculture. She introduced GGGI's practice of promoting sustainable agriculture and food in developing countries, and emphasized the important role of financial institutions in sustainable agriculture, as well as the criticality of mobilizing innovative financial models and developing partnerships.

This special meeting was hosted by Jia Xiaohua, Director of China Affairs of Asia Research and Engagement (ARE). She introduced that ARE is committed to establishing an Asian transformation engagement platform supported by investment institutions through cooperation with international financial investment institutions, focusing on energy, finance and agricultural food systems. At present, the asset management scale of investment institutions on the platform has exceeded 8 trillion US dollars. With rich experience and diversified backgrounds, the ARE team provides companies with a strong investor network, professional corporate communication experience and high-quality independent research to help companies cope with climate change and achieve sustainable transformation and development.

Zhang Haifeng, deputy general manager of the Strategic Planning Department of the Agricultural Bank of China, shared the experience of the Agricultural Bank of China in sustainable agriculture and food, and its active exploration of transformation financial products in his keynote speech on "How can green finance better promote the sustainable development of the agricultural food system". He summarized the five directions that financial institutions should take in the sustainable development of agriculture in the future: covering small customers from large projects, enriching the product system, providing intellectual support, relying on assets from "things" to "rights", and improving the technological level of services. At the same time, he called on all sectors of society and regulatory authorities to work together to provide better support and environment for agricultural green finance.

Cheng Lin, Director of the International Cooperation and Research Center of the Beijing Institute of Green Finance and Sustainable Development, shared relevant observations and data on green finance and transitional finance in his keynote speech entitled "Transitional Finance Framework: Standards, Planning and Outlook". He emphasized the important role of transitional finance in supporting economic activities and assets that have not yet met green standards but are in urgent need of transformation. He mentioned international attempts and practices in transition planning and information disclosure, and encouraged everyone to pay attention to and understand the high-level sustainable disclosure standards in China. Finally, he emphasized the importance of information disclosure and encouraged everyone to pay attention to and understand the basic standards of corporate sustainable disclosure standards issued by the Ministry of Finance of China.

Dong Shanning, Director of the Middle East Asia Region of Bank of Jiangsu Co., Ltd. and Deputy General Manager of the Green Finance Department, raised the challenges faced by the low-carbon transformation of agriculture, including funding gaps, transformation goals, climate adaptability and insufficient technological level, in his keynote speech on "The Practice of Commercial Bank Green Finance Supporting Sustainable Agricultural Development". He emphasized the unique role of local banks in agriculture and rural finance through the practical case of Jiangsu Bank providing financial support for the low-carbon transformation of agriculture through risk sharing models and insurance innovation. He also put forward suggestions for further leveraging financial support for the low-carbon transformation of agriculture, including completing standards and specifications, guiding capital investment, deepening technical research and enriching financial supply.

Eva Gocsik, senior analyst of animal protein at Rabobank, emphasized the importance of animal welfare and sustainable development in today's society in her keynote speech "Using animal welfare to promote corporate sustainable production financing". She analyzed the development trend of the global animal protein market and shared the development trend of the global animal protein market and the case of European retailers' transformation to sustainable production. Eva called for accelerating transformation, changing mindsets, strengthening international cooperation, and jointly promoting animal welfare and sustainable development.

Wang Bo, ESG Research Director of Yinhua Fund, shared the importance of ESG issues in the livestock industry in his keynote speech on "ESG in Animal Husbandry from an Investment Perspective". He also emphasized that corporate transparency on major ESG issues is crucial, especially in energy management, emission control, land use and animal health. Wang Bo introduced the group standard "Guidelines for ESG Information Disclosure of Livestock Enterprises" in which Yinhua Fund participated, calling on companies to fully disclose ESG information related to their business, especially substantive financial and impact issues to optimize resource allocation, realize shareholder value and social value, and thus enhance the competitiveness and image of China's livestock industry in the global market.

Mei Dewen, Vice Chairman of Beijing Green Exchange and Secretary General of Beijing Green Finance Association, shared "Carbon Market in the Context of Carbon Neutrality: Current Situation and Prospects", expounding on the importance of sustainable agriculture and production financing for achieving carbon neutrality goals. He deeply analyzed how the carbon market has become a new engine to promote production financing, emphasizing that the expansion of the carbon market will bring spillover effects to sustainable agriculture. Mei Dewen said that the carbon market can provide long-term stable expectations and low-cost funds, which has an important role in promoting China's energy, economic, financial and social transformation. He called on the government, enterprises and industry associations to strengthen policy support and industry cooperation to jointly promote the sustainable and healthy development of the carbon market.

Lin Lefen, professor of the School of Finance at Nanjing Agricultural University, emphasized the key role of green finance in promoting sustainable agricultural development in the speech “Green Finance Promotes Low-Carbon Development of the Agricultural Food System”. She took Jiangnan Rural Commercial Bank as an example to share the bank’s practical results in green finance and encouraged more financial institutions to launch innovative green financial products to promote the low-carbon transformation of the agricultural food system.

This special session successfully brought together outstanding experts and representatives in the field of finance and sustainable development from around the world. They discussed in depth the core value and practical strategies of sustainable agricultural and food production financing from multiple dimensions. The conference not only demonstrated the remarkable achievements and positive actions of financial institutions in promoting sustainable agricultural and food production, but also provided valuable insights and inspiration for future collaboration and development blueprints. We look forward to all parties continuing to strengthen cooperation and exchanges, jointly promote the development of global green finance and sustainable agricultural and food systems, and contribute to the realization of carbon neutrality goals and sustainable development.

On October 29, the 2024 World Animal Welfare and Sustainable Agriculture and Food Conference was grandly opened at the Beijing Jinhai Lake International Convention and Exhibition Center. The conference was co-organized by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the China Association for Promoting International Agricultural Cooperation, aiming to gather global wisdom, jointly respond to challenges, seize opportunities, and promote the sustainable development of the agricultural food system.