ICBC has accepted the invitation from the G20 Energy Efficiency Finance Task Group (EEFTG) and signed the Statement by Financial Institutions on Energy Efficiency, becoming the first large-sized Chinese commercial bank in the Statement.

The Statement is a non-mandatory commitment initiated by the EEFTG, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP FI). Since released in Istanbul, Turkey in October 2015, more than 100 financial institutions from 42 countries have announced to join the Statement.

The increase of energy efficiency is critical to addressing the challenge from climate change. According to the estimate of the International Energy Agency, an annual investment of USD 560 billion would be required to achieve the goal of doubling improvement rate of energy efficiency worldwide, versus the current investment of only USD 130 billion, reflecting a serious lack of investment and potential market opportunities.

An official with ICBC said that the Bank would take this opportunity to further implement the sustainable development strategy of green credit, facilitate the financing for energy efficiency improvement and become a world-class green financial institution in China. As early as in 2007, ICBC took the lead in clarifying the “green credit” concept, and made building a green bank a long-term development strategy. ICBC has established an effective long-term mechanism for green finance development by integrating green finance into its corporate vision, development strategy, credit culture, credit policy, management procedure, product and service innovation as well as capacity building. ICBC has also prioritized green economy in credit resource allocation supporting the upgrading and adjustment of economic structure and projects related to energy conservation and emission reduction. As at the end of June 2016, the Bank granted nearly RMB 720 billion loans to green economy such as ecological protection, clean energy, energy conservation, environmental protection and recycling resource utilization.