Ma Jun thinktank to add six new China transition finance benchmarks covering 90% of emissions

The Institute of Finance and Sustainability, led by former PBOC chief economist Ma Jun, plans to release six new sectoral transition finance benchmarks in the coming months. These will cover industries like steel, cement, chemicals, and glass, and together with six existing benchmarks will cover over 90% of China's total emissions. The benchmarks are voluntary reference pathways that help banks assess whether a company's decarbonisation plan is credible and ambitious enough for transition finance. For example, the steel sector benchmark recommends an 18% carbon intensity reduction over five years, aligned with China's 2060 carbon neutrality goal and Paris Agreement targets. Ma Jun noted that China now has at least 20 separate transition taxonomies across provinces and cities, creating inconsistency in how banks evaluate transition plans. The IFS benchmarks aim to standardize these assessments. However, Ma acknowledged the transition finance market will take longer to mature than green finance because of the complexity of defining pathways and thresholds across many sectors. The institute is also developing transition plan templates to help smaller companies prepare credible decarbonisation plans, with a pilot already underway in Huzhou.