Forum on sustainable finance and ESG promotes global cooperation

Sandy Sio, president of the MICSRGC

The Macau Institute for Corporate Social Responsibility in Greater China (MICSRGC), together with the Macao University of Tourism have co-organized a forum on sustainable finance and environmental, social and governance (ESG).

The forum, held last weekend, debated the importance of sustainable finance in the current global environment and called for concerted efforts to achieve sustainable development goals.

During her opening remarks, the president of the MICSRGC, Sandy Sio, said last year’s forum explored nature-related financial and reporting frameworks.

Sio said that under the “1+4” diversification development strategy, Macau’s ecological conservation efforts deserve more attention.

She also noted that as the various industries have been recovering rapidly, the city confronts the dual challenges of increased human traffic and environmental pressure.

She said sustainable finance and ESG are not only catalysts for growth and value creation but also key to protecting biodiversity and driving climate action.

During the forum, professor Jill Atkins explored agendas on biodiversity protection and nature restoration, emphasizing the accounting, accountability, and finance for rewilding and de-extinction, and proposed the necessity of the development of new forms of finance, such as nature fintech and biodiversity credits.

Martina Macpherson introduced an innovative financing method, namely the “extinction bond,” and discussed species extinction accounting mechanisms and financial solutions through specific case studies, aiming to protect species and enhance biodiversity while maintaining financial market stability.

Additionally, Atkins, Macpherson and other panelists, including professor Carlos Noronha, Pedro Theotónio, and professor Morris Liu, discussed the latest topics in sustainable finance and ESG.

Noronha, from the University of Macau, highlighted the profound impact of these topics in the fields of sustainability, accounting, finance, corporate social responsibility, and corporate governance and looked forward to participants gaining insights and further exploring related topics in sustainable finance.

*The Macau Daily Times was a collaborating partner of the event.