Abstract: Building a green finance system is the core support for Shanghai to consolidate its position as an international financial center and assist the ecological civilization construction to enter the stage of high – quality development. In recent years, Shanghai has continuously deepened its green finance practices. Relying on financial product innovation and institutional supply optimization, it has shown positive results in cultivating green and low – carbon industries. Facing real challenges such as differences in the identification of green finance standards, limited coverage of regional supporting incentive policies, and an imperfect market – based compensation mechanism for the environmental benefits of green projects, this paper puts forward systematic suggestions from the dimensions of improving the green finance standard framework, building a digital public service platform, and designing diversified policy incentive tools. The aim is to provide policy references for Shanghai to build a green finance reform and innovation pilot zone and contribute replicable experiences for other regions in the country to explore the development path of green finance.
Keywords: Shanghai; Green finance; Economic development
I. Economic Development in Shanghai
From the economic data of Shanghai from 2012 to 2024 in Table 1, it can be seen that Shanghai’s GDP has been growing steadily in the past decade. Except for 2020 when the growth rate was 1.7% due to the impact of the pandemic, the growth rate in other years was above 6%. In 2024, the GDP growth rate reached 14.2%. From 2012 to 2024, Shanghai has maintained rapid economic development, and its GDP has quadrupled. In terms of industrial structure changes, the output value of the primary industry fluctuates and generally shows a downward trend; the output value of the secondary industry grows steadily, while its proportion decreases steadily; both the output value and proportion of the tertiary industry maintain steady growth and generally show an upward trend. As a national central city, a megacity, and the economic, transportation, technological, industrial, financial, trading, exhibition, and shipping center of China, as well as the leading city in the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Shanghai has a large economy and a high degree of modernization. The long – term rapid development of the tertiary industry has driven the overall rapid economic development of Shanghai.
Data source: Shanghai Statistical Yearbook
Data source: Shanghai Statistical Yearbook
Figure 1: Gross Domestic Product and the Three Industries in Shanghai from 2012 to 2024
II. Overview of Shanghai’s Leading Industries
(1) Integrated Circuit Industry
Among Shanghai’s strategic emerging industries, the integrated circuit industry has the greatest competitive edge and the highest potential to become a globally leading industrial cluster. There are approximately 2,599 integrated circuit enterprises in Shanghai, with over 400,000 employees, accounting for 63% of the national total. In the past decade, the average annual compound growth rate of Shanghai’s integrated circuit industry’s sales revenue has been 20.36%, and it has gradually entered a new normal of continuous, steady, and relatively rapid development. It has formed a complete integrated circuit industrial chain that encompasses design, manufacturing, packaging and testing, materials, equipment, and other supporting services. Shanghai is the city with the relatively most complete integrated circuit industrial chain and the most balanced industrial structure in China. In terms of manufacturing, it has gathered a number of well – known integrated circuit manufacturing enterprises such as SMIC, Huahong Grace, and Huali Microelectronics. The entire integrated circuit industrial chain is forming a “circle of friends”. Relying on the “Oriental Core Port”, the Lingang New Area is building a world – class comprehensive integrated circuit industrial base to achieve a complete layout of the integrated circuit industrial chain in materials, equipment, design, manufacturing, and packaging and testing.
(2) Artificial Intelligence Industry
The artificial intelligence industry in Shanghai has reached a certain market scale, and the characteristic of balanced distribution in the industry is obvious. There are key enterprises in the core foundation circle, technology development circle, and application scenario circle. Relying on the country’s first artificial intelligence innovation and application pilot zone, Shanghai is committed to developing application scenarios such as unmanned driving, AI + 5G, intelligent robots, AI + education, AI + healthcare, and AI + industry. According to statistics, in 2024, there were 10,660 core artificial intelligence enterprises in Shanghai, and there were more than 3,000 pan – artificial intelligence enterprises. Shanghai has not only nurtured a group of leading artificial intelligence enterprises such as Yitu, Shenlan, and Tuling, but also attracted leading domestic and foreign artificial intelligence enterprises to set up important R & D bases in Shanghai, such as BAT, Huawei, Microsoft, Google, iFlytek, and Yuncong. The Maqiao Artificial Intelligence Innovation Pilot Zone is a key area for the agglomeration of artificial intelligence industries, talents, technologies, and applications in Shanghai. In the future, it will focus on developing the “Four Intelligence Industries” of intelligent robots, intelligent transportation systems, intelligent sensors, and intelligent new hardware. It is planned to build an area of over 10 million square meters that integrates business, R & D, manufacturing, and residential functions, creating an integrated industrial – urban area. The Shanghai Industrial Intelligence Center is located within this area. It will feature “AI + Industrial Internet” and build an “integrated demonstration room” for AI R & D and application based in Shanghai and radiating across the Yangtze River Delta.
(3) Biomedical Industry
Biomedicine is one of the most distinctive and advantageous industries in Shanghai. It has long maintained its position as the top in the national pharmaceutical industry, with relatively concentrated institutions, talents, and enterprises and leading quality management levels. To support the development of innovative biomedical enterprises, the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Economy and Informatization has led the establishment of the Shanghai Biomedical Fund with a total target scale of 50 billion yuan. Nearly 10 billion yuan has been raised for the first – phase domestic fund, which focuses on investing in key areas in line with Shanghai’s biomedical industry development strategy. At the end of 2024, the “Action Plan for Supporting the Mergers and Reorganizations of Listed Companies in Shanghai (2025 – 2027)” was officially released, clearly proposing the establishment of a 10 – billion – yuan biomedical industry merger and acquisition fund to support the mergers and reorganizations of listed companies, promote the integration of the industrial chain, and drive industrial transformation and upgrading. By the end of 2024, Shanghai had more than 30 biomedical enterprises listed on the Science and Technology Innovation Board (out of 110 nationwide), and more than 50 drugs developed, introduced, and produced by biomedical enterprises had been included in the national medical insurance catalog. With Zhangjiang as the innovation hub, Shanghai’s entire biomedical industry is making all – out efforts in the R & D, breakthroughs, and industrialization of innovative drugs, high – end medical devices, and new vaccines. According to statistics, one – third of the national new drug R & D institutions are concentrated in Zhangjiang, one – third of the national major new drug creation projects are located in Zhangjiang, and one – third of the first – class innovative drugs approved in the country originate from Zhangjiang. Zhangjiang enterprises have carried out more than 50 international multi – center clinical trials of innovative drugs globally.
(4) Aerospace and Aviation Industry
Substantial progress has been made in the construction of Shanghai’s aviation manufacturing industrial chain. The capabilities of the main manufacturers have been continuously enhanced, the industrial agglomeration effect has become prominent, and breakthroughs have been made in platform construction. In 2020, the total output value of the aviation manufacturing industry reached approximately 50 billion yuan. Shanghai has strong advantages in the supporting facilities of the industrial chain, having cultivated around 10 key supporting enterprises with global competitiveness. Among them, the local supporting capacity for structural parts and key components of the CR929 has reached about 40%, and the local supporting capacity for airborne systems has reached about 30%, which has also driven the rapid development of the R & D and manufacturing of aircraft and parts manufacturing equipment. Optimize the “2+X” spatial layout of the aviation manufacturing industrial chain, accelerate the layout around directions such as aircraft final assembly manufacturing, parts production and manufacturing, avionics system development, and aviation maintenance, promote the coordinated development of upstream and downstream supporting enterprises, drive industrial agglomeration, and enhance the industrial level.
(5) New Materials Industry
Shanghai has many advantages in developing the new materials industry. There are numerous scientific research institutions, universities, functional platforms, and industry associations and alliances in the field of new materials. According to statistics, six university departments offer professional teaching, R & D in new – material – related disciplines, there are 6 research institutes, 28 new – material – related laboratories, research centers, and technology platforms, and 4 new – materials industry associations and alliances, which provide comprehensive support for the high – quality development of Shanghai’s new materials industry. There are many enterprises in Shanghai’s new materials industry, with nearly 600 enterprises distributed. The number of new materials enterprises in each major administrative district is over 50, covering Jinshan District, Qingpu District, Songjiang District, Jiading District, Minhang District, Pudong New Area, etc. It is gradually establishing cross – regional industrial development bases, extending the new materials industrial chain, rationally allocating industrial chain resources in the Yangtze River Delta region according to the characteristics and advantages of each city, and driving the development of small and medium – sized supporting enterprises upstream and downstream of the industry.
(6) Intelligent Manufacturing Industry
Shanghai has always been committed to deepening the integration of 5G, artificial intelligence, the Internet, big data, and the manufacturing industry, aiming to become a new high – ground for intelligent manufacturing applications, a source of core technologies, and an exporter of system solutions in China, and to promote the coordinated development of intelligent manufacturing in the Yangtze River Delta. After continuous promotion in the previous period, the development system of Shanghai’s intelligent manufacturing has basically taken shape, and phased results have been achieved. In key fields such as the automotive, high – end equipment, aerospace, shipbuilding and offshore engineering, and electronic information industries, a total of 19 national – level intelligent factories and 100 municipal – level intelligent factories have been built, and more than 1,000 intelligent manufacturing scenarios have been promoted and put into practical use. The evaluation rate of intelligent factories among industrial enterprises above designated size in the city exceeds 70%. In addition, it focuses on building an intelligent manufacturing industrial cluster with the pattern of “one core and one belt”. The “one core” refers to the Lingang World – Class Intelligent Manufacturing Industry Center, and the “one belt” is the suburban intelligent manufacturing industrial belt formed by regions such as Pudong, Minhang, Jiading, Baoshan, and Songjiang. Overall, it focuses on intelligent transformation and the application of new models in intelligent manufacturing, and has built an industrial cluster with strong competitiveness.
(7) Electronic Information Manufacturing Industry
Shanghai’s electronic information product manufacturing industry actively aligns with the national strategies of the “Belt and Road Initiative” and the “Yangtze River Economic Belt”. Focusing on building a scientific and technological innovation center with global influence, relying on the Zhangjiang National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone, with Pudong New Area and Caohejing as the core areas and Songjiang, Qingpu, Jiading, Jinshan, etc., and national university science parks as the expansion areas, it aims to build several characteristic industrial clusters for electronic information manufacturing. It actively strengthens industrial linkage and development with the Yangtze River Delta region, promotes domestic investment layout and cross – border development of enterprises, and plays a leading and radiating role in Shanghai’s electronic information manufacturing industry.
(8) Petrochemical and Fine Chemical Manufacturing Industry
As one of the earliest – rising petrochemical industry bases in China, Shanghai’s petrochemical and fine chemical manufacturing industries have become relatively concentrated. They are mainly distributed in the Shanghai Chemical Industry Park spanning Fengxian and Jinshan Districts, the Hangzhou Bay Economic and Technological Development Zone, and the Shanghai Jinshan Second Industrial Zone in Jinshan District. Together with Shanghai Petrochemical Co., Ltd., Shanghai Gaoqiao Petrochemical Company, and Shanghai Huayi (Group) Company, they form an industrial layout of “two zones and one belt” on the north shore of the Hangzhou Bay.
(9) Automobile Manufacturing Industry
The automobile manufacturing industry in Shanghai is mainly distributed in Jiading District, the northern part of Pudong, and Fengxian District. Among them, Jiading District is the absolute core for the development of Shanghai’s automobile manufacturing industry, the northern part of Pudong is the secondary development core, and Fengxian District mainly focuses on intelligent new – energy vehicles. In the future, Shanghai will focus on developing the manufacturing sectors of new – energy vehicles, intelligent connected vehicles, complete vehicles and auto parts, and extend to develop service sectors such as smart mobility and auto finance.
(10) Modern Financial Industry
Known as the “Magic City”, Shanghai has formed a financial institution system with extensive domestic and foreign participation. By the end of 2024, there were 1,782 licensed financial institutions of various types, among which 555 were foreign – funded financial institutions, accounting for 31%. Foreign – controlled securities companies, wholly foreign – owned insurance companies, wholly foreign – owned life insurance companies, and foreign – controlled wealth management joint – ventures were the first to be established in Shanghai. The layout of asset management institutions such as public funds, private funds, and insurance asset management companies in Shanghai also ranks among the top in the country. Meanwhile, Shanghai established the first financial court in the country, introduced the first local comprehensive credit regulations in the country, and gathered a large number of financial professional service institutions. The financial business environment and legal environment have been continuously optimized. Shanghai has formed a comprehensive financial market that brings together stocks, bonds, currencies, foreign exchange, commodity futures, financial futures, gold, insurance, bills, trusts and other sectors. It has gathered numerous financial infrastructures for product registration, custody, settlement, and clearing, and launched a series of important financial products. With complete market elements and advanced technological means, it provides a solid guarantee for the issuance, trading, pricing, and risk management of financial assets. Shanghai has basically built an international financial center commensurate with China’s economic strength and the international status of the RMB.
III. Achievements in the Development of Green Finance in Shanghai
In recent years, driven by both external environment and internal motivation, Shanghai has attached great importance to green finance-related work. Leveraging its advantages as a highland of financial resources and a gathering place for financial talents, Shanghai has frequently made efforts in institutional construction and achieved remarkable results in the business market. According to statistics of business segments in the green finance market, including green credit, green bonds, green funds, green insurance, environmental rights trading, green leasing, and green securities, as of the end of 2023, the scale of Shanghai’s green finance business exceeded 2 trillion yuan, accounting for about 10% of the total scale of China’s green finance business. In terms of market structure, the top three – green loans (68%), green leasing (17%), and green bonds (7%) – accounted for 92% of the city’s green finance scale. In terms of volume, green transactions mainly including carbon trading, environmental rights trading, and green energy trading only accounted for 0.05% of the green finance business, showing an order – of – magnitude difference from other business segments[1].
(1) Steady Growth in the Scale of Green Credit
According to the statistical data from the Shanghai Head Office of the People’s Bank of China, the balance of green loans in Shanghai has grown at an average annual rate of over 18% in the past five years, leading the growth rate of other types of loans. As of the end of 2023, the balance of green credit in the banking sector within the jurisdiction reached 1.03 trillion yuan, accounting for about 10% of the total balance of various loans in the city and about 5% of the national green loan balance. After a period of rapid growth in the early stage of the 14th Five – Year Plan, the growth rate of green loans has significantly slowed down in the middle and later stages of the 14th Five – Year Plan, and the growth rate has been lower than the national average for three consecutive years.
(2) Rapid Development of Green Leasing
As of the end of 2023, the national green leasing asset scale was about 700 billion yuan, with Shanghai accounting for half of the national total with a scale of 350 billion yuan, maintaining its leading position. To actively support science and technology innovation and green leasing, Shanghai has specially established the Shanghai Financial Leasing Asset Transfer Center and released the first green leasing index in China – the “Lujiazui Index for the Development of China’s Green Leasing”. The index shows that in 2023, Shanghai’s green leasing development index was 111.04, with the operating income of green leasing increasing by 36.90%, and the balance of business and financing channels increasing by 22.49%, indicating that the benefits of green leasing enterprises are gradually emerging after resource investment. Shanghai’s green leasing industry is becoming an important force in promoting the development of green industries and high – quality regional economic development.
(3) Large – scale Issuance and Transaction Volume of Green Bonds
According to WIND (Wande Database) data, as one of the main listing locations for national bonds, the Shanghai Stock Exchange occupies a major position in the issuance of exchange – traded green bonds. In 2023, the issuance scale of green bonds on the Shanghai Stock Exchange accounted for 77.58% of the total issuance scale of green bonds on all domestic exchanges. The overall issuance scale in Shanghai reached 125.7 billion yuan. Despite the negative growth of the national green bond issuance scale, Shanghai still maintained a growth rate of 38%. Among them, local Shanghai issuers issued 79 labeled green bonds with a scale of 85.68 billion yuan. Generally speaking, although Shanghai ranks among the top in terms of both the issuance scale and quantity of green bonds in the country, it has always lagged behind Beijing and Guangdong. A comparison shows that Shanghai’s annual green bond issuance scale is less than half of that of Beijing, and most of the bond – issuing parties are large – scale state – owned enterprises.
(4) Diverse Green Innovation Means in the Securities Market
The Shanghai Stock Exchange, which undertakes the function of the national securities trading platform, has carried out innovation in green index products and achieved certain results in equity financing for green industries and green investment funds. It has become the first securities exchange in China to join the United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges Initiative. In recent years, it has been selected as the deputy director unit of the Green Finance Cooperation Committee of the Asian Financial Cooperation Association and the vice – chair of the Sustainable Development Working Group of the World Federation of Exchanges. As of the end of 2024, there were 246 green asset – backed securities on the Shanghai Stock Exchange, with a custodial fund scale of 9.3 billion yuan; 33 green ETFs were issued, with a fund scale of 17.516 billion yuan; and 112 green indexes were released.
(5) Settlement of Important Green Financial Institutions in Shanghai
In July 2020, the National Green Development Fund, jointly initiated by the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, and the Shanghai Municipal Government, was officially established in Shanghai. The initial fundraising scale was 88.5 billion yuan, with a focus on investing in areas such as pollution control, ecological restoration and land greening, energy and resource conservation and utilization, green transportation, and clean energy. Meanwhile, Shanghai has also supported several public and private funds related to green environmental protection, such as the Jiuduansha Ecological Climate Protection Foundation, the only public fund with an environmental protection theme in Shanghai, and the Shanghai Ant Forest Ecological Green Development Foundation, a private fund.
(6) Steady Progress of the Green Rights Trading Market
Since the official launch of the national carbon emission trading market in 2021, Shanghai has been responsible for specific tasks such as account opening and operation and maintenance of the national carbon emission trading system. As of the end of 2024, the carbon emission trading system has been operating smoothly, with a cumulative trading volume of carbon emission allowances of approximately 630 million tons and a cumulative trading turnover of approximately 43 billion yuan. Since its launch in 2013, the Shanghai carbon market has achieved 100% compliance for 11 consecutive years. The cumulative trading volume of spot products has reached 227 million tons, with a cumulative trading turnover of over 3.6 billion yuan. The trading volume of China Certified Emission Reductions (CCER) has remained the highest in the country.
(7) Continuous Expansion of the Green Financial Market Scale
In 2024, Shanghai established a green financial service platform, optimizing five major functions: information service, financial supply, industry identification, project service, and intelligent analysis and early warning. The construction of green financial infrastructure has been continuously strengthened. The proportion of green finance in the financial market has continued to increase, and the scale has been continuously expanding. As of the end of 2024, the balance of green loans in Shanghai exceeded 1.4 trillion yuan, with a year – on – year growth rate of over 20%. In 2024, enterprises issued 35 and 24 green bonds in the inter – bank market and the exchange market respectively, with issuance scales of 27.19 billion yuan and 34.96 billion yuan respectively [2][3].
(8) Continuous Innovation of Green Financial Products and Services
Financial institutions are encouraged to carry out cooperation in green financial business to enrich the application scenarios of green finance. For example, the Bank of Shanghai launched the “Electricity – Carbon Benefit Enterprise Loan” product. It jointly established a tri – party cooperation mechanism of “green evaluation + policy guarantee + scenario finance” with the Shanghai Financing Guarantee Center and green and low – carbon service institutions. By identifying green carbon – reduction scenarios in the energy and power supply chain, it provides preferential green loans to small and medium – sized enterprises that meet the loan requirements. The Shanghai Rural Commercial Bank cooperated with Shanghai Juneyao Airlines Co., Ltd. to issue the bank’s first transformation finance loan for the air transportation industry, with an amount of 145 million yuan. The bank linked the loan interest rate with the transformation and development performance target (SPT), using “CO2 emissions per ton – kilometer of the passenger airline fleet” as the core carbon – reduction indicator.
IV. An Overview of Shanghai’s Development Difficulties
(1) Insufficient Effective Supply of Residential Housing
The new housing construction in Shanghai has a low degree of matching with the urban rail transit planning, industrial development planning, and infrastructure planning. In some remote suburban areas, the sales of new houses are very slow, making it difficult to alleviate the actual housing problems. Meanwhile, the housing types and areas do not match the structural demand. In particular, the rising improvement – oriented housing demand is likely to further drive up housing prices.
(2) There is Still a Gap in the Globalization of the Carbon Finance Market
With the official operation of the national carbon market in 2021, China has become the world’s largest carbon market. Shanghai has significant advantages in financial supervision, technology, talent, and investment management across the country, laying a solid foundation for the development and innovation of carbon finance and its derivatives. However, there is still a large gap between Shanghai’s establishment of a global carbon finance center and the developed global markets. China’s environmental information disclosure mechanism, whether in terms of disclosure methods, content, or the degree of compulsion, has a large gap compared with foreign environmental information disclosure mechanisms. Shanghai also faces many challenges in establishing a global carbon finance center.
Firstly, the MRV system is imperfect, and the specific implementation methods and processes need to be improved.
Secondly, the total control of carbon trading quotas needs to be tightened. The amount of the total quota determines the scarcity of the quota and also affects the carbon price. The relatively loose total quota setting has led to insufficient activity in carbon trading and a low carbon price. In 2020, the average spot trading price of Shanghai’s quotas was 40.31 yuan/ton, which is far from the price of nearly 40 euros/ton in the European carbon market.
Thirdly, the carbon trading quota allocation mechanism is imperfect. In August 2020, Shanghai’s carbon market conducted its first quota auction, with a total of 2 million tons. The low proportion of paid allocation makes it difficult to attract more entities to participate in carbon trading. In 2020, there were a total of 197 entities in Shanghai’s carbon trading market, including 79 investment institutions and 118 regulated enterprises, whose trading volumes accounted for 76.86% and 19.11% of the total trading volume in 2020 respectively.
(3) Lack of Synergy Hinders the Radiation of Green Finance
As an international financial center, Shanghai should leverage its advantages in diverse financial institutions, leading – edge science and technology innovation, and concentrated talent resources to drive the development of regional green finance and contribute Shanghai’s financial strength to the integration of the Yangtze River Delta. However, there are many challenges in the development of green finance in the Yangtze River Delta region, mainly manifested in the lack of top – level design, low degree of regional integration, and large differences in the positioning of different cities. Specifically, the development of green finance in Shanghai as a whole shows a steady upward trend, and the official operation of the national carbon trading market has also laid an important foundation for the development of carbon finance in Shanghai. The Shanghai banking industry has been effective in the risk supervision of green credit, but there is still a need to improve the investment and financing levels of low – carbon and energy – saving enterprises.
(4) More Support for Green Finance Technology is Urgently Needed
Asian financial centers such as Singapore, Hong Kong (China), and Tokyo have established incentive mechanisms such as government interest subsidies, risk – sharing, and preferential re – loans to encourage the development of green finance. In contrast, although Shanghai has achieved remarkable results in urban informatization and smart city construction, it still faces many challenges in the integration of technology development and green finance.
Firstly, the application of big data in the green finance field is not broad and deep enough, and there is still a large space to achieve real intelligent assistance for green finance. For example, in the field of green funds, the actual returns are affected by the limited scope of data.
Secondly, although blockchain technology is very popular in Shanghai, there are not many mature scenarios for direct application by financial institutions such as securities companies. This may also be related to the fact that China’s securities business is mainly conducted and settled in the on – exchange market, and the off – exchange trading truly related to blockchain technology has not fully developed in China.
Thirdly, the lagging technology restricts the promotion of green finance development by financial technology. Although financial technology mainly based on artificial intelligence and blockchain can effectively solve the problems of information asymmetry and high transaction costs in the process of green finance development, making it possible to measure and price external factors that were traditionally impossible to internalize, and providing technological impetus for the development of green finance, problems such as the security of transaction data, information transmission efficiency, and the matching of transaction information between buyers and sellers urgently need to be improved with new technologies. For example, in terms of the current blockchain technology, if it is applied to green finance, each transaction needs to verify all nodes at each stage, and the current technology makes the verification of a single transaction time – consuming and inefficient.
Fourthly, the lagging legal regulatory framework exposes the artificial intelligence in the financial industry to risks such as data leakage and uncertain legality.
(5) The Green Finance Standard System Needs to be Improved
International financial center cities such as New York and London generally attach great importance to the construction of the green finance standard system. They have established detailed standard specifications from the classification and identification of green projects to the accounting of green performance, and generally adopt the internationally – recognized information disclosure framework. In contrast, Shanghai lacks comprehensive green evaluation standards related to financial activities, lacks detailed classification standards for green projects tailored to local industrial characteristics, and has not established environmental benefit quantification indicators covering the entire life cycle of projects. The issued standards are not very operable. In terms of pre – review standards, the current green finance standards at the national and Shanghai levels are mainly macro – policies and principle – based documents, lacking specific implementation rules, which makes the policies face many uncertainties in actual operation. In terms of third – party certification standards, there is a lack of unified norms. The supporting policies are imperfect, and there are differences in the definition, classification, and statistical caliber of green finance information among different departments and institutions.
(6) The innovation of financial products still needs to be strengthened.
Currently, green credit remains the main form of green finance, while innovative financial instruments such as green leasing and green ABS are developing slowly. Meanwhile, the credit products provided by banks are concentrated in areas such as “Specialized, Sophisticated, Distinctive and Novel Loans”, “Science and Technology Innovation Loans”, and “Special Loans for Technological Transformation”, with relatively single application scenarios, which cannot meet the diverse financing needs of enterprises. For some small and medium – sized enterprises and emerging green industries, due to the lack of suitable financial instrument support, problems such as difficult and expensive financing still exist.
(7) There is a lack of professional service institutions and talents in green finance.
The number of professional service institutions for green finance is small, and their service capabilities are limited. Moreover, these institutions lack professional technology and experience in green project evaluation, environmental risk analysis, green financial product management, etc., and it is difficult to meet market demand in a short time. Green finance has high requirements for the professional qualities and comprehensive abilities of talents, covering multiple fields such as finance, environment, and law. However, there are few relevant professional settings in the higher education and vocational education systems, and the talent cultivation system is imperfect, resulting in an insufficient supply of professional talents in green finance in the market.
(8) The supporting public services for green finance are inadequate.
Many green finance reform and innovation pilot zones in China have established service platforms for exclusive green finance business, carried out green information exchange, and supported the integration of industry and finance for green projects. Some regions use “green + technology” tools to reduce the cost for investment and financing entities to obtain green information and conduct green evaluations. In contrast, Shanghai lacks a green finance information collection service system, and there are still many obstacles in data inter – communication and sharing among various departments and institutions involved in green finance business. For market entities, due to the lack of a professional information collection service platform, it is difficult to conduct in – depth mining and analysis of green finance data; for regulatory authorities, because they cannot timely and comprehensively master green finance business data, it is difficult to effectively monitor the capital flow of green projects and the environmental risks of enterprises. Green project information is relatively scattered, and the cost of developing and implementing green finance products is relatively high.
V. Overall Solutions
This study applies the new theory of using green finance to guide regional coordinated development. In response to the main difficulties faced by Shanghai in its further development, the following solutions are proposed:
(1) Promote the transformation and upgrading of the industrial structure through green finance
Shanghai needs to seize the new opportunities brought about by the construction of ecological civilization and the introduction of urban planning policies, promote the diversification and transformation and upgrading of the industrial structure, and cultivate new pillar industries.
(2) Promote the coordinated development of the economy and the environment through green finance
An excellent ecological environment is a prerequisite for supporting the sustainable economic and social development of Shanghai. It is also the most equitable public good and the most inclusive well – being for the people’s livelihood. If Shanghai wants to solve the problems of industrial transformation and upgrading and sustainable development, green finance is an effective and main means.
(3) Improve the top – level design and establish a working mechanism for departmental linkage
Promote the improvement of legislation and justice in the field of green finance. Take the lead in issuing the Regulations on the Development of Green Finance in Shanghai, and clearly list the main responsibilities of each department in the legal norms. Build a cross – departmental coordination mechanism to strictly review projects applying for green finance support. Draw on the third – party verification mechanism of the carbon market and introduce a third – party evaluation and certification mechanism for green finance to prevent the risks of “greenwashing” and “green sheen”. Promote the integration and sharing of green data. Strengthen the rigid constraints on environmental information disclosure and impose penalties on “green sheen” or false disclosure behaviors.
(4) Highlight standardized development and promote the construction of the standard system and information disclosure system
Establish a strict green finance standard and certification system, formulate unified quantitative evaluation standards, and clarify the calculation methods and information disclosure templates for core indicators such as carbon emissions and energy conservation[6]. Issue standards for sub – fields of green finance, fully consider the characteristics and risk features of each field, and put forward differentiated requirements in terms of access thresholds, risk management, and information disclosure. At the same time, strengthen the connection between standards in different fields to ensure the consistency and synergy of standards. Promote the comprehensive green and high – quality development of the economy. For emerging technology projects, regularly update the Shanghai Green Technology Catalog and the Shanghai Green Project Database, and promptly include emerging technologies and projects that meet green standards. For traditional technologies and projects, improve the incentive mechanism for the development of transition finance to guide funds to low – carbon transformation projects in high – carbon industries.
(5) Combine local characteristics and increase the innovation of green financial products and services
Guide financial institutions to innovatively develop green financial products, and link environmental indicators such as corporate carbon emissions and energy consumption with credit conditions. Combine digital means such as big data and artificial intelligence to quantitatively evaluate the green performance of enterprises and provide credit support such as preferential interest rates and quota preferences. Provide personalized and professional financial services according to the actual needs of different industries and enterprises[7]. Taking the shipping industry as an example, closely combine with the construction of the shipping center, launch shipping carbon futures, and accelerate the green transformation of the shipping industry. In response to the problems of difficult and expensive financing in the new energy industry, establish a special guarantee fund for new energy REITs with government credit enhancement to broaden financing channels and help the implementation of new energy projects.
(6) Give full play to the advantages of financial resources and build a high – ground for green finance talents
Carry out systematic and professional education and training. Utilize the resource advantages of Shanghai’s environmental and energy trading, the pilot carbon market, and the National Green Development Fund to carry out education and training related to green finance, and cultivate a group of composite talents who understand both financial knowledge and energy conservation, carbon reduction, and carbon market trading rules, and provide talents for fields such as the design, pricing, trading, and risk management of carbon financial products. Encourage universities to set up micro – majors such as green finance and carbon finance, and offer highly targeted and practical courses, such as green credit and investment, and green finance risk assessment, so that students can have an in – depth understanding of the actual operation of green finance and lay a foundation for their future career development.
VI. SWOT Analysis of Shanghai’s Low – carbon Collaborative Development
(I) Strength Analysis (S – Strength)
- Leading Position in the Yangtze River Delta Economy
Located in the east of China at the estuary of the Yangtze River, Shanghai is the core city of the world – class Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration and an international center for economy, finance, trade, shipping, and scientific and technological innovation. From 2012 to 2024, Shanghai’s economy has maintained rapid development. The GDP value has steadily increased, showing a relatively fast upward trend. The total GDP has quadrupled in the past decade. It is undoubtedly the leader in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, playing a leading role and laying a good economic foundation for its own low – carbon collaborative development. - Continuous Optimization and Upgrading of Industrial Structure
In the past decade, Shanghai has continuously adjusted its industrial structure. The output value of the primary industry has fluctuated and generally shown a downward trend; the output value of the secondary industry has increased steadily, while its proportion has decreased steadily; both the output value and proportion of the tertiary industry have maintained steady growth, showing an overall upward trend. The steady growth of the proportion of the tertiary industry is of great significance for promoting Shanghai’s low – carbon economic development and is conducive to building a knowledge – based economic model characterized by low energy consumption, low pollution, and low emissions. - Deepening Innovation and Driving Development
In recent years, Shanghai has continuously leveraged its comprehensive advantages as a reform pioneer and a gathering place of factors. Guided by innovation – driven development, it has taken the lead in promoting the vigorous development of new technologies, new industries, new models, and new business forms. It has actively updated concepts, relaxed regulations, encouraged diversified exploration, and actively created a “four – broad” development environment, namely, a broad vision, relaxed regulations, a tolerant atmosphere, and a reassuring system and mechanism. At the same time, it adheres to problem – orientation, kinetic energy transformation, management innovation, market – driving, and coordinated promotion; it is committed to aggregating innovation resources, attracting innovative talents, and establishing a regional collaborative innovation system in the Yangtze River Delta, becoming an important hub in the global innovation network and one of the major sources of scientific and technological innovation. Shanghai’s comprehensive innovation can radiate to other cities in the Yangtze River Delta and gradually form a world – class Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration with global competitiveness.
(II) Analysis of Disadvantages (W – Weakness)
The contradiction between supply and demand for residential housing in the central area is prominent.
Land in Shanghai is relatively scarce, and it is difficult to obtain residential land, so the contradiction between supply and demand is quite obvious. In 2025, the supply of commercial residential land in the central area of Shanghai will still be tight. All the residential land in Huangpu District, Xuhui District, Jing’an District, Hongkou District, and Yangpu District comes from the supply of old – area renovation, with areas of 5 – 10 hectares, 15 – 20 hectares, 10 hectares, 5 – 10 hectares, and 20 – 25 hectares respectively. In addition to the 5 – hectare residential land from old – area renovation, Jing’an District also has 10 hectares of commercial housing land.
The ability to ensure energy supply is insufficient.
Firstly, there are still weak links in power supply. The large – scale, long – distance, and centralized transmission of DC imported electricity brings great peak – shaving pressure. There are still old power transmission and transformation facilities in the city center, and the power grid in some areas is still relatively weak. Old coal – fired power plants with a capacity of 300,000 kilowatts or less have low efficiency and high coal consumption, and need to be upgraded and transformed at a faster pace. Secondly, the production, supply, storage, and sales system of natural gas needs to be improved more quickly. The natural gas storage capacity needs to be enhanced, and the external transmission of Yangshan LNG faces the risk of a single – channel. The short – board of energy security due to the high external dependence on crude oil and natural gas will exist for a long time. Thirdly, renewable energy is facing development bottlenecks such as insufficient resources. The available development sites for large – scale renewable energy power generation are relatively limited, and the development of distributed photovoltaics is restricted by factors such as roof resources and shared property rights. Fourthly, the planning and layout of refined oil need to be continuously optimized and adjusted. The guarantee system for aviation kerosene needs to be adjusted more quickly, and the airport’s aviation fuel storage capacity needs to be further strengthened. In combination with the functional transformation of the central urban area, the layout of oil depots needs to be optimized and adjusted.
The carrying capacity of resources and the environment is saturated at a certain stage.
Shanghai is in the optimized development area in the “Development Plan for the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration”, that is, the current land development is in a stage of saturation. How to effectively solve and deal with the limited land development is a difficult problem that Shanghai must face in its current development, and it is also an opportunity for the transformation of a low – carbon economy and green development.
(III) Analysis of Opportunities (O – Opportunity)
Support from national strategic goals
Against the background of China’s goal of achieving carbon peak by 2030 and carbon neutrality by 2060, green development has become a new engine for promoting China’s economic growth. Green finance is an important and necessary guarantee for promoting sustainable development and an important path for promoting green development. Therefore, the financial market with an increasingly perfect development pattern and continuously improving opening – up level, as well as the continuously optimized business environment, jointly constitute a strong guarantee for Shanghai to build an international green financial hub.
The global energy development has entered a period of kinetic energy transformation
Clean energy has become the general trend of global energy transformation, which brings unprecedented opportunities for Shanghai’s new energy industry to “go global”. Renewable energy will develop at a faster pace. From the demand side, the trend of re – electrification and low – carbonization of energy demand is obvious. New industries such as integrated circuits and new infrastructure such as 5G and data centers will become new driving forces for promoting the growth of Shanghai’s energy demand. With the progress of energy technology, the popularization of energy storage and electric vehicles will further promote the energy consumption revolution. From the supply side, the efficiency of wind power and photovoltaics is improving and the cost is decreasing, and renewable energy will gradually achieve grid – parity, which will boost the energy transformation.
The siphoning effect creates a top – level resource high – ground
As a national central city, megacity, and the economic, transportation, scientific, industrial, financial, trade, exhibition, and shipping center of China, Shanghai is the leader among all cities in the Yangtze River Delta. It has a strong siphoning effect on resources, and various resources in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration are constantly flowing into Shanghai. Many relevant plans are formulated around Shanghai. The Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration is the most economically powerful regional economic hinterland in China, so Shanghai has a very solid foundation for sustainable development. Many world – class Fortune 500 companies have also set up their Greater China regional headquarters in Shanghai, attracting domestic and foreign capital and top – notch talents, thus creating a top – level resource high – ground in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration.
(IV) Threat Analysis (T – Threaten)
Impact of pandemic prevention and control on various industries
The previous pandemic prevention and control measures had a significant impact on important industries in Shanghai, such as consumption, automotive, and electronics. During the pandemic, logistics was hindered, leading to shortages in the supply chain. The automotive industry faced pressure on the supply – side, and the petroleum and coal processing industry suffered from shortages of raw materials. The downstream industries were affected by potential shutdowns, resulting in a trend of weak supply and demand.
Competition from other major cities in the Yangtze River Delta
In addition to Shanghai, there are other major cities in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, such as Hangzhou, Nanjing, Suzhou, and Ningbo. These cities are the central cities of their respective sub – regional small urban agglomerations, leading the development of the Hangzhou Metropolitan Area, Nanjing Metropolitan Area, Suzhou Metropolitan Area, and Ningbo Metropolitan Area. There is both cooperation and competition between these major cities and Shanghai. Currently, with the continuous intensive development of the parochial administrative management system in China, the competition is gradually intensifying. As the leading city in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, how Shanghai can maintain its leading position, radiate resources effectively, and reduce the siphon effect is an urgent problem to be solved.
(V) SWOT Matrix Analysis
VII. Suggestions for Recent Low – carbon Collaborative Development
Currently, Shanghai is facing issues such as the temporary saturation of resource and environmental carrying capacity, the lack of synergy hindering the radiation of green finance, and the impact of the COVID – 19 prevention and control on all industries. However, as a national central city, a megacity, and China’s economic, transportation, scientific, industrial, financial, trade, convention, and shipping center, as well as the leading city of the Yangtze River Economic Belt, Shanghai has a large economy and a high degree of modernization. For a long time, the tertiary industry has developed at a high speed, driving Shanghai’s economic development. Therefore, the ST strategy should be adopted for the overall development in the near future. The specific suggestions are as follows:
(1) Build a collaborative innovation pattern and diversify development to disperse risks
Construct a networked innovation system centered on Shanghai, with Nanjing, Hangzhou, and Hefei as fulcrums and other cities as nodes. Strengthen Shanghai’s functions in innovation idea origination, knowledge creation, and factor distribution. Accelerate the construction of the Zhangjiang National Independent Innovation Demonstration Zone, and focus on enhancing the ability of original innovation and technical services. Diversify development, don’t put all eggs in one basket, and disperse risks.
(2) Plan scientifically, promote the relocation of non – core functions, strictly control the population size in the central urban area, and develop a resource – saving economy
Reasonably determine the population size control targets for the whole city, especially the central urban area. Combine government guidance with market mechanisms to promote the adjustment of the existing population through industrial upgrading and the control of the incremental population through function relocation. In line with the requirements of building a core city of a world – class urban agglomeration, accelerate the improvement of Shanghai’s core competitiveness and comprehensive service functions, and speed up the construction of a scientific and technological innovation center with global influence. Give full play to the leading role of Pudong New Area, promote the relocation of non – core functions, optimize the allocation of public service resources, and guide the reasonable distribution of the population to suburbs, key small towns, and cities adjacent to Shanghai. Set up a stepped household registration access system through the points system to control the scale and pace of household registration. Explore and establish a new mechanism for the two – way flow of registered population. Vigorously develop a resource – saving economy to solve the bottleneck problem of land resources.
(3) Play the leading role of the financial sector in the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration and drive the overall collaborative development of the Yangtze River Delta
As an international financial center, Shanghai should give full play to its advantages such as diverse financial institutions, leading scientific and technological innovation capabilities, and concentrated talent resources. Take the lead in formulating green finance plans and top – level institutional designs for the Yangtze River Delta region, radiate the overall collaborative development of the regional economy, and contribute Shanghai’s financial strength to the integration of the Yangtze River Delta. Give full play to Shanghai’s role as the leading city serving the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the bridgehead of the Belt and Road Initiative. Promote collaborative development with surrounding cities such as Suzhou, Wuxi, Nantong, Ningbo, Jiaxing, and Zhoushan, lead the integrated development of the Yangtze River Delta Urban Agglomeration, and improve the implementation effect of national strategies such as serving the Yangtze River Economic Belt and the Belt and Road Initiative. Actively promote the replicable pilot experience of financial reforms in the free trade pilot zone within the urban agglomeration. Effectively play the role of platforms such as the Joint Conference on the Coordinated Financial Development of the Yangtze River Delta, accelerate the integration of financial information, payment and settlement, bill circulation, credit system, and foreign exchange management, and enhance the ability of finance to serve the real economy. Strengthen financial regulatory cooperation and joint prevention and control of risks, jointly crack down on illegal fund – raising in the region, and establish a joint disposal mechanism for financial risks. Strengthen the “Credit Yangtze River Delta” cooperation mechanism and promote the interconnection of the credit investigation system.
VIII. Suggestions for the Development of Green Finance in Shanghai
Shanghai is the core city of the entire Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration, with a GDP exceeding 3 trillion yuan. It is well – deservedly the leader, and it also leads in terms of technology, economy, culture, education, etc. It is recommended to leverage Shanghai’s economic leading position and build it into the green finance center of the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration. The specific functional design is as follows:
(I) Green Finance Financing Service Center
Shanghai is home to the Shanghai Stock Exchange, one of the two major A – share stock exchanges in China, and also the location of the branch headquarters of the People’s Bank of China. It should give full play to its financial advantages and provide all – round systematic services for green finance financing, and build itself into a green finance financing service center for all enterprises and local governments in the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration.
- Green Credit
Green finance centered on green credit is an important driving force for China’s green development. Supporting green development through green credit is an important means to stabilize growth and adjust the economic structure under the new normal. The branch headquarters of the People’s Bank of China should, in accordance with the unified deployment of the head office, conduct green credit evaluations of banking deposit – taking financial institutions in Shanghai, and incorporate the evaluation results into the macro – prudential assessment of banking deposit – taking financial institutions to guide financial institutions to strengthen credit support for the green environmental protection industry. All financial institutions in Shanghai must attach great importance to and closely cooperate. Generally speaking, they should maintain a steady growth trend of green credit, improve the quality of green loans, and ensure that risks are controllable. In addition, each financial institution should earnestly implement the national green development policy and continuously improve mechanisms such as the green credit statistics system, green credit approval, risk management, and assessment.
Practicing green credit is of extremely important significance both for social and economic development and for financial institutions themselves. Financial institutions in Shanghai should raise their political awareness, adhere to the concept of green development, actively fulfill their social responsibilities, and promote green credit from a strategic height; establish a long – term mechanism for green credit, optimize the allocation of green assets, and enhance the innovation drive of green finance and the ability to manage environmental risks; strengthen the publicity of green credit, improve public awareness, and promote finance to better serve the green transformation of the real economy, thereby contributing to the sustainable development of Shanghai’s economy. - Green Bonds
Expand the issuance scale of green bonds and improve the construction of the green bond system. As more and more countries set carbon neutrality as a long – term vision, there will be more room for the development of green finance in the future. As an important part of green finance, green bonds can smooth the green financing channels for enterprises, guide more social capital to invest in the green and low – carbon fields, and promote the comprehensive green transformation of economic and social development. It is recommended that Shanghai leverage its core leading role and the radiation – driving role of a regional central city, further strengthen the development of the green bond market in the Yangtze River Delta. Measures should be taken in terms of green bond standards, strengthening information disclosure, standardizing mechanisms, and increasing incentives to promote the high – standard and high – quality development of the green bond market in the Yangtze River Delta region, better support the green recovery and low – carbon transformation of the Yangtze River Delta after the epidemic, and contribute to the realization of the “30·60 goals” in the Yangtze River Delta. - Green Funds
Shanghai should support various green equity investment funds in Shanghai, such as the National Green Development Fund, to focus on green investments in key fields such as environmental protection, pollution prevention and control, energy and resource conservation and utilization, green buildings, green transportation, and green manufacturing in the Yangtze River Delta. Relying on government – guided funds or industrial investment funds, through joint investment by the government and society, support the development of green industries. The excess returns generated by government investment can be shared with social investors in a certain proportion. At the same time, support private equity funds, venture capital funds, etc. to increase their investment in green enterprises, green projects, and green technologies in the Yangtze River Delta.
(II) Green Finance Evaluation and Certification Center
As an international financial center city, Shanghai can leverage its information and technology advantages. Relying on knowledge graphs to improve the green portraits of relevant enterprises, and using blockchain technology to record the logo changes and circulation records of green financial products, build a green finance evaluation and certification center for the Yangtze River Delta urban agglomeration.
- Strengthen connections and create a “Yangtze River Delta sample” for the green project library. Continuously track and dynamically adjust the entities implementing green projects. Submit the declared green projects to third – party institutions for evaluation and certification. After review, make them publicly available in the library to ensure smooth communication of information.
- Research and formulate a standard system for green financial product services that are mutually recognized and interoperable in the Yangtze River Delta. Leveraging the advantages of Shanghai as a financial center, cultivate third – party green certification institutions with high professional capabilities and great international influence to issue independent “Yangtze River Delta Green Certification Reports”, effectively evaluate the green benefits of projects, and attract more investors to enter the market.
(III) Green Finance Innovation and R & D Center
Shanghai should support market players such as financial institutions to carry out product and business innovation on the basis of effective risk control. Establish a coordination mechanism for green finance development, promote pilot reforms and innovations in green finance, build a Shanghai Green Finance Innovation and R & D Center, and promote the green development of the economy and society in the Yangtze River Delta region.
- Increase technological innovation of blockchain in the green finance field. Shanghai should actively support the development and innovation of blockchain technology, and make full use of the advantages of emerging technologies such as big data and blockchain to provide support for green finance investment decision – making, post – investment management, transaction pricing, information disclosure, etc. For example, in the field of carbon finance, as an emerging distributed ledger technology, blockchain’s characteristics such as decentralization and transparency are expected to become a new breakthrough in solving data problems in the carbon trading market. Supervise and audit the whole process of green fund use through “blockchain” to improve the transparency of fund use, ensure that the funds of green finance projects such as green bonds actually flow to green industries, eliminate the “greenwashing” phenomenon, and explore the creation of a financial comprehensive service platform with the characteristics of the Yangtze River Delta featuring “green finance + blockchain”.
- Strengthen the R & D strength of green finance products. Strengthen the R & D strength of green finance products, rationally layout the new – generation information technology industry chain, give full play to the advantages of regional integration and linkage, and promote the integrated development of green finance in the Yangtze River Delta. For example, for green bonds, a unified blockchain trading market for the Yangtze River Delta and even the whole country can be established off – exchange to break regional restrictions and improve financing efficiency.
- Explore the establishment of corporate and individual carbon accounts and form carbon points. Promote the integration of green finance and inclusive finance and explore the establishment of corporate and individual carbon accounts. Relying on the special library of green finance data services, Shanghai can carry out digital cooperation with various third – party institutions to explore the establishment of corporate carbon accounts and carbon accounts for natural persons (permanent residents). Incorporate corporate carbon emission performance information and individual green and low – carbon activity information into carbon accounts to form carbon points. Encourage Shanghai’s financial institutions to provide preferential financial products or services to enterprises and natural persons with high carbon points. At the same time, after the establishment of corporate and individual carbon accounts, strengthen the connection with relevant carbon – friendly platforms in the Yangtze River Delta. All districts and departments in Shanghai should enhance the influence of Shanghai’s carbon – friendly mechanism, regularly organize evaluations and summaries of the implementation effect of the carbon – friendly mechanism, timely solve the problems existing in the construction and operation process, promote useful experience, give full play to the demonstration and leading role of Shanghai’s carbon – friendly mechanism, and actively promote the expansion and extension of Shanghai’s carbon – friendly mechanism to the Yangtze River Delta and other regions across the country through point – to – point cooperation between cities.
- Explore regional legislation on green finance in the Yangtze River Delta. Although regional legislation is a kind of regulatory document between national legislation and local legislation and currently does not conform to the provisions of China’s “Legislation Law”, based on the successful promulgation of the “Yangtze River Protection Law” (the first river basin legislation), the exploration and practice of legislation on green finance in the Yangtze River Delta will be realized in the near future.
(IV) International Green Finance Exchange Center
Relying on the status of the financial opening hub, further deepen international cooperation in green finance and improve the internationalization level of Shanghai’s green finance. Support international financial institutions such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank to provide investment, financing, and technical services for green projects. Give full play to the headquarters effect of the New Development Bank and promote the implementation of international green finance cooperation projects in Shanghai. At the same time, take advantage of the pilot advantages of cross – border capital flows in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone and the Lingang New Area of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone to provide more convenient cross – border investment and financing services for green enterprises. Strengthen cooperation with international financial organizations in the field of green finance, promote international exchanges in green finance, establish a green finance cooperation mechanism, and actively promote international cooperation in climate investment and financing. Support Shanghai’s financial markets, financial infrastructure, and financial institutions to actively participate in the research and formulation of domestic and international green finance standards. Further enhance Shanghai’s international competitiveness in green finance cooperation, promote the construction of Shanghai as an international financial exchange center, enhance the global resource allocation ability, and improve the efficiency and level of the domestic economic cycle through international cooperation.
Figure 2: A Diagram Showing the Functions of the Core Area of Shanghai’s Green Finance
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