HSBC, the world's first bank to go carbon neutral, has pledged
$21.7 million to help the country fight global climate change.
The bank launched a climate change program for China in Beijing
yesterday, together with four global environmental organizations -
the Climate Group, Earthwatch Institute, Smithsonian Tropical
Research Institute and Worldwide Fund for Nature.
The Chinese program is part of the bank's $100 million five-year
Climate Partnership program launched in May with the same four
partners to tackle climate change worldwide.
HSBC's investment in the program is the largest corporate
donation received by any of the four environmental
organizations.
It became the first "carbon neutral" bank in 2005 when it
reached the international standard for emissions reduction.
The program aims to help reinforce the country's efforts on
energy conservation and emissions reduction and to combat the
impact of climate change on forests, fresh water, cities and
people.
"The environment and sustainable development is key to HSBC's
business development strategy. HSBC is proud to work together with
four world-class organizations to jointly explore practical
measures of addressing climate change issues with the support of
the government as well as the participation of enterprises and the
general public," said Richard Yorke, president and chief executive
officer of HSBC China Co Ltd.
The local program will fund research into the nation's
subtropical and temperate forests, aiming to strengthen
understanding of the relationship between forests and climate
change.
The program will also help to restore 3,000 sq km of wetlands in
the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River and to improve
the adaptability of the drainage area to climate change and
mitigate potential disasters brought by extreme weather
conditions.
"We hope that through the city and region-focused program we can
provide government and corporate decision-makers with solid
analyses and recommendations to steer policies, investments and
technologies toward a climate-friendly future," said Wu Changhua,
Greater China director of program partner the Climate Group.
The program will also help to conduct studies in Beijing,
Shanghai and the Pan-Pearl River Delta region on models of
energy-efficient cities, and to improve the resilience and
adaptability of the ecological system in delta regions.
Headquartered in London, HSBC operates the largest branch
network of foreign banks on the mainland.
(China Daily December 5, 2007)
