On 24 November 2022, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited hosted the launching ceremony of Core Climate, an international carbon market in Hong Kong. Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury of the Hong Kong SAR Government, Mr Christopher Hui, delivered a speech as a guest speaker. CNEPG was invited as the first group member of the Hong Kong International Carbon Market Committee. CECEPHK was invited to attend the award ceremony as the first carbon trading participant. Yang Wei, executive director and general manager of the company attended the ceremony on behalf of the company.
The Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Mr Hui, the Chairman of HKEx, Ms Laura Cha, the Chief Executive of HKEx Group, Mr Au Kwon-sing, the Permanent Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury (Financial Services), Ms Manda Chan, took a group photo with representatives of the first Group members of the Hong Kong International Carbon Market Committee.
Core Climate was officially launched by HKEx on October 28. It is the only comprehensive carbon market that provides both HK dollar and RMB settlement for international voluntary carbon credit product trading. It has won wide attention and support from domestic and overseas markets, and recorded over 40 transactions in the past month, with a total trading volume of about 400,000 tons of carbon credits. The platform now offers more than 30 internationally certified quality carbon reduction projects in forestry, solar, wind, hydropower and biomass in Asia, South America and West Africa. These projects have been Verified by Verra's VCS (Verified Carbon Standard).
"China has the largest carbon market in the world, and Hong Kong, with its proximity to the mainland market, has a unique role to play in helping the mainland achieve its dual carbon goals and develop into a sustainable financial hub in the region," said Ms Laura Cha, Chairman of HKEx.
"The launch of Core Climate marks a major step forward in our development of Hong Kong as a leading carbon trading hub in Asia. We are pleased to see that the platform has been well received by the market and has attracted participation from a wide range of regions and industries," said Mr Au Kwon-sing, Chief Executive of HKEx.
CECEP was presented with the Commemorative Trophy for being the First Trading Participant and the First Corporate Member of the Hong Kong International Carbon Market Committee at the ceremony
CECEPHK actively participated in the first batch of pilot trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, and completed the first carbon asset trading in HK dollar and RMB on the Core Climate platform respectively. In a number of transactions involving CECEP, CECEPHK and China State Construction (CSCEC) successfully purchased and offset 24,389 tons of quality forestry project carbon credits for the Hong Kong Organic Resources Recovery Centre Phase II Project (O·PARK2). It is the first carbon neutral construction project in Hong Kong and even in China. It is the only successful case of carbon trading for the purpose of carbon offset among the first batch of transactions.
CECEPHK provides comprehensive carbon neutralization solutions for the whole process of the O·PARK2 project, continuously carries out support services such as carbon emission reduction path, sustainable transformation consultation and full-scope carbon emission accounting, assists in the development of carbon neutralization cloud platform to realize intelligent carbon verification and information disclosure, and uses high-quality forest carbon sinks to assist the project in carbon offsetting final carbon emissions. The complete closed loop of the whole green construction is realized. As the first carbon neutral project in Hong Kong during the construction period, the successful implementation of O·PARK2 is of great significance in promoting the green transformation of the entire construction industry in Hong Kong and helping to achieve the carbon neutral goal of Hong Kong 2050.
CECEPHK will give full play to its professional advantages in carbon financial consulting and cross-border carbon asset management in Hong Kong, continue to deepen cooperation with HKEx and other partners, contribute to the development and growth of Hong Kong's international carbon market, and comprehensively help build Core Climate into a global important carbon trading hub.
Core Climate, launched by HKEx, supports efficient and transparent market trading of carbon credit products and instruments to help drive the global net-zero transition. Core Climate enables companies and investors to access product information, to hold, trade, settle and cancel voluntary carbon credit products. The products on the platform come from high-quality, internationally accredited carbon projects around the world, including carbon avoidance and reduction projects, such as deforestation avoidance and renewable energy, and carbon removal projects such as woodland rehabilitation.