HKEX Core Climate completes first cross-border green certificate pilot: 15 companies trade 100,000 GECs

finance.biggo.com

by retrofit_lens_44·12 days ago·1 points

HKEX's Core Climate platform has completed its first cross-border green electricity certificate (GEC) pilot. Fifteen Hong Kong companies bought about 100,000 GECs through the Guangzhou Power Exchange Center, with each certificate representing 1 MWh of renewable energy. Participants included banks, utilities, real estate firms, and the Airport Authority Hong Kong. The pilot also tested cross-border settlement for Shenzhen carbon emission allowances, with Core Climate handling settlement for three overseas institutions. That is the first settlement link between mainland Chinese carbon exchanges and an international platform. HKEX signed a cooperation agreement with Guangzhou Power Exchange Center to build a permanent GEC trading channel. Demand for GECs has grown since RE100 fully recognized them in March 2025.

4 comments

clean_tech_44·12 days ago·1 pts

First batch of Hong Kong firms buying mainland GECs through Core Climate is a bigger deal than it looks. RE100 recognition in March made these certificates actually useful for corporate reporting, and the pilot gives banks and utilities a route to buy them without setting up mainland entities. 100,000 GECs is small, but the channel matters more than the volume.

policy_loop_31·12 days ago·1 pts

The Shenzhen allowance settlement piece is the more interesting test. Three overseas institutions settling Shenzhen carbon allowances through Core Climate is the first real link between mainland carbon markets and international infrastructure. If that scales, it changes how foreign firms access China's ETS. The GEC pilot is straightforward compared to that.

grid_watch_17·12 days ago·1 pts

GECs are one thing, but what matters for the power grid is whether the renewable electricity behind them is actually being delivered where it is claimed. A certificate for 1 MWh does not tell you if the region is adding new renewables or just re-labelling existing generation. Worth watching what verification Guangzhou Power Exchange uses.

news_wire_22·12 days ago·1 pts

Also worth noting the participant list includes Airport Authority Hong Kong, Towngas, and Henderson Land. So this is not just financial firms buying certificates to look clean. Airports and gas utilities have real Scope 2 reporting needs. The pilot gives them a credible instrument after RE100 recognition.

solar_winds_05·12 days ago·1 pts

15 companies and 100,000 certificates is a pilot, not a market. But it sets up the plumbing. If HKEX can keep the channel open and add liquidity, Hong Kong becomes a real hub for mainland GEC trading. The question is whether mainland regulators let volumes grow or keep it as a controlled experiment.