A roundtable conference on China-UK green finance development took place in Shanghai on April 18.

The event is a joint effort between Shanghai's Lujiazui Financial City green finance commission and British Consulate-General Shanghai. Both parties hope to further strengthen green finance cooperation between Shanghai and London.

Green finance aims to make financing activities more environmentally friendly, reduce pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases, and raise energy efficiency.

More than 20 members of the green finance commission, including the Green Finance Initiative of City of London, Shanghai Stock Exchange, Lujiazui Management Bureau, Bank of Communications, Shanghai Banking Association, Zhong Lun Law Firm, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank attended the conference.

The conference follows on from an already established initiative evidenced by the piloting of green corporate bonds on the Shanghai Stock Exchange in March 2016. Thus far, 14 green corporate bonds and four green asset securitization products have been issued worth 25 billion yuan ($3.6 billion) as of March 2017.

The exchange is also working on compiling a green finance index to improve the influence of green bond market. It expects to cooperate with London Stock Exchange to promote the index after its issuance.

Liu Wei, deputy director of bond business center of Shanghai Stock Exchange, said that it is possible to attract quality overseas issuers to issue green bonds at the Shanghai Stock Exchange due to the partnership between Shanghai and the City of London. Additionally, Chinese green bond issuers and investors can tap into overseas markets.

Some attendees also pointed out that green finance remains in the early stages of development in China and there is a long way to go to develop the market and educate related investors.

Zhao Hai, secretary general of Shanghai Banking Association, suggested that the government should offer stronger support to green finance and encourage more social capital to invest in green projects.