Corporate climate disclosure in China - with Erica Downs, Ned Downie, and Yushan Lou

Corporate climate disclosure in China - with Erica Downs, Ned Downie, and Yushan Lou

Author: Beijing Energy Network February 14, 2024 Duration: 33:33

Today's episode looks at the complex topic of corporate climate disclosures. Our guests today are Erica Downs, Ned Downie, and Lou Yushan. They are the authors of a recent report, published by the Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP), entitled "China's Climate Disclosure Regime: How Regulations, Politics, and Investors Shape Corporate Climate Reporting."

Erica Downs is senior research scholar at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University; Edmund Downie is PhD Candidate in Public Affairs at the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs; and Yushan Lou is Research Associate at the Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University.

In the podcast we discuss:

  • How disclosures on ESG and carbon emissions differ in Hong Kong versus the mainland, and for listed versus unlisted firms
  • The differing incentives SOEs have for making public climate disclosures
  • The value of such disclosures for policy, given that policy-makers have so many other command-and-control instruments on climate policy and ways of obtaining emissions or climate-related information from the largest emitters
  • The ways investors can and do influence Chinese firms, including SOEs, to improve climate disclosures

For further reading:

Edmund Downie, Erica Downs, Yushan Lou, "China's Climate Disclosure Regime: How Regulations, Politics, and Investors Shape Corporate Climate Reporting," Columbia Center on Global Energy Policy, 29 November 2023, at https://www.energypolicy.columbia.edu/publications/chinas-climate-disclosure-regime-how-regulations-politics-and-investors-shape-corporate-climate-reporting/.

Edmund Downie, Erica Downs, Yushan Lou, "Better disclosure rules can help China's financial markets work for the climate," China Dialogue, 4 January 2024, at https://chinadialogue.net/en/climate/better-disclosure-rules-can-help-chinas-financial-markets-work-for-the-climate/. 

Episode produced by: Anders Hove

Buy us a nice chocolate chip cookie on our Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/EnvironmentChina 

 

 


Produced by the Beijing Energy Network, Environment China is a bilingual podcast that delves into the complex and vital stories shaping China's ecological landscape. Rather than offering broad pronouncements, it focuses on grounded conversations with the people on the front lines: the advocates campaigning for change, the entrepreneurs building sustainable solutions, and the researchers providing crucial data. Each episode explores the intersection of society, culture, and science, revealing how environmental policy and daily life are intertwined. You'll hear specific discussions about conservation efforts, green technology, urban design, and community initiatives, all framed within the unique context of modern China. This podcast provides a necessary platform for these nuanced voices, translating complex issues into accessible dialogue. It’s an essential listen for anyone seeking to move beyond headlines and understand the real-world work being done to address environmental challenges. By listening to Environment China, you gain insight into the multifaceted movement towards sustainability, one conversation at a time.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 50

Environment China
Podcast Episodes
Sustainable Finance for Seafood – with Qianming (Alice) Chen [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 26:39
Today, we're speaking about the topic of sustainable fishing, and especially the role of finance, with Alice Chen. Qianming (Alice) Chen is a researcher at the International Institute of Green Finance, Central University…
International lessons for Shanxi province's coal transition [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 18:37
In today's episode, we are looking at Shanxi province, known as the country's most coal-intensive provincial economy. Over the past several years, various research cooperation efforts have looked at how Shanxi could tran…
Evolution of China's Green Power Markets - with Sharon Feng [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 19:17
Today, we're talking about China's evolving market for green energy and renewable power purchases, with Sharon Feng, at Director of Advisory Services and Research at Azure International. Sharon is an expert in China's po…
China's power shortages and solutions - with Xi Xi of iGDP [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 23:30
Today, we're going back to the hot topic of the past two years, namely the energy transition away from coal and how it relates to energy security concerns, especially the recent power outages that have affected parts of…
Rethinking plastics and marine litter - with Liu Xiao [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 25:47
Today, we're going to discuss the huge problem of marine plastics. Millions of tons of pastic waste enter the world's oceans every year, and according to the UN Environmental Programme, 85% of marine litter is plastic. P…