Two months before nations gather in Brazil to negotiate the next chapter of global climate commitments, Hong Kong will convene more than 250 leaders from finance, business, and government to confront a question that defines this era: how does climate ambition become funded reality. The International Finance Corporation and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority have organized the Climate Business Forum: Asia Pacific for September 9, 2025, placing the city at the center of a regional effort to channel private capital into low-carbon growth across emerging Asia-Pacific markets. The forum reflects a gr
IFC and HKMA to Host Climate Business Forum in Hong Kong on Sept 9
Translate policy discussions into investment opportunities
Mark
Why does Hong Kong matter as the venue? It's not the largest economy in Asia-Pacific.
Mimi
It's the financial infrastructure. Hong Kong has the track record in green bonds, transition finance, nature-positive investments. It's where capital flows and where regional institutions already congregate.
Luke
But the source doesn't quantify that. We don't know how much green finance has actually moved through Hong Kong versus other centers. That's an assertion, not a fact.
Mark
Fair. So what's the actual deliverable from this forum? Is it just networking?
Mimi
The source says the goal is to translate policy into investment opportunities—to close the gap between climate ambition and bankable projects. The 2024 edition apparently laid groundwork for ongoing collaboration.
Luke
Again, we don't know what came out of 2024. We're told it "laid the foundation," but for what? How many deals? How much capital mobilized? That's missing.
Mark
What about the timing relative to COP30?
Mimi
Two months before. So this forum is meant to position emerging markets as leaders going into the global climate negotiations in Brazil. It's a signal-setting event.
Luke
That's interpretation. The source says it precedes COP30 and that discussions will focus on private investment accelerating the green transition. But whether this forum actually influences COP30 negotiations—that's unknowable from what we have.
Mark
What's the She Wins Climate piece about?
Mimi
Supporting women entrepreneurs and women-led enterprises delivering climate solutions. It's about embedding gender equity into climate finance.
Luke
The source mentions it but doesn't give numbers. How many women entrepreneurs? How much capital? How many have actually received funding? We're seeing the program named, not evaluated.
Mark
So the forum is real, the partnerships are real, but the impact is still being written.
Mimi
Exactly. This is a convening. What matters is what happens after.
The Pulse
- Emerging Asia-Pacific markets face a compounding urgency: they must simultaneously decarbonize, attract private investment, and build economies resilient enough to withstand the climate shocks already arriving.
- The two-month window before COP30 in Belém creates pressure to move beyond rhetoric — the forum is explicitly designed to produce concrete investment outcomes, not merely shared intentions.
- Five interconnected agendas — AI-driven decarbonization, heavy industry transition, sustainable supply chains, biodiversity finance, and renewable infrastructure — will be stress-tested against the hard question of what is actually scalable and fundable.
- Hong Kong's dual identity as a green bond issuer and regional financial hub gives the forum institutional weight, while the HKMA-IFC partnership is structured to ensure follow-through beyond the single day of discussion.
- Inclusive finance initiatives — including a program supporting women-led climate enterprises — signal that the forum is attempting to weave equity into the architecture of climate action, not treat it as an afterthought.
Two months before nations gather in Brazil to negotiate the next chapter of global climate commitments, Hong Kong will convene more than 250 leaders from finance, business, and government to confront a question that defines this era: how does climate ambition become funded reality. The International Finance Corporation and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority have organized the Climate Business Forum: Asia Pacific for September 9, 2025, placing the city at the center of a regional effort to channel private capital into low-carbon growth across emerging Asia-Pacific markets. The forum reflects a growing recognition that declarations alone cannot build resilient economies — that the distance between a climate pledge and a bankable project must be crossed by deliberate, coordinated action.
On September 9, 2025, Hong Kong will host more than 250 senior leaders from business, finance, and government for the Climate Business Forum: Asia Pacific — organized by the International Finance Corporation and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, with BloombergNEF as knowledge partner. The timing is deliberate: the event falls two months before COP30 in Belém, Brazil, positioning it as a critical bridge between climate ambition and the investment decisions that must follow.
The forum's central challenge mirrors the region's own: emerging Asia-Pacific markets need to mobilize private capital at scale to build low-carbon economies that are both job-creating and climate-resilient. IFC regional vice president Riccardo Puliti was direct about the stakes — emerging markets must design and fund their own climate solutions, and private sector engagement is not optional. The IFC-HKMA partnership, he said, is structured to produce concrete outcomes rather than well-intentioned declarations.
The agenda moves across five domains: the role of artificial intelligence in accelerating decarbonization, pathways for transitioning heavy industry, climate-resilient supply chains, biodiversity and adaptation finance, and renewable energy investment trends. The animating question beneath all of them is whether technology, policy reform, and private capital can be aligned to produce projects that are genuinely scalable and bankable.
Hong Kong's selection as host reflects its standing as a regional green finance center. HKMA chief executive Eddie Yue pointed to the city's active role in green bond issuance, transition finance, and nature-positive investment. Hosting the forum for a second year — as the cornerstone of Hong Kong Green Week — allows the city to demonstrate that sustainable finance can reshape supply chains and enable nature-based solutions in practice.
Two programs will receive focused attention: the IFC's She Wins Climate initiative, which supports women entrepreneurs developing climate solutions, and the Alliance for Green Commercial Banks, which accelerates green finance innovation across the commercial banking sector. Together, they illustrate an approach to climate action that integrates gender equity and private finance rather than treating them as separate tracks.
The one-day format combines high-level panels, fireside chats on financing structures and climate technologies, and case studies from institutions already navigating green transitions. Building on the inaugural 2024 forum, this year's edition aims to deepen cross-border partnerships and scale investments — so that as the world moves toward COP30, emerging markets arrive not only with commitments, but with projects already in motion.
Hong Kong will host a gathering of more than 250 business leaders, financiers, and government officials on September 9 to discuss how emerging markets across Asia-Pacific can channel private capital into climate-resilient growth. The Climate Business Forum: Asia Pacific, organized by the International Finance Corporation and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority with BloombergNEF as knowledge partner, arrives at a pivotal moment—two months before the UN's 30th climate conference in Belém, Brazil, where nations will negotiate the next phase of global climate commitments.
The region faces an urgent challenge. Emerging markets in Asia-Pacific are racing to mobilize both capital and innovation to build low-carbon economies that create jobs and withstand climate shocks. The forum positions itself as a bridge between climate ambition and implementation, offering a platform where investment strategies, technological solutions, and policy frameworks can align. Riccardo Puliti, the IFC's regional vice president for Asia-Pacific, framed the stakes plainly: emerging markets recognize they must design and fund their own climate solutions, and private sector engagement is essential to that work. The partnership between the IFC and HKMA, he said, will ensure the forum produces concrete outcomes rather than rhetoric.
The agenda spans five interconnected areas. Participants will examine how artificial intelligence and emerging technologies can accelerate the shift away from fossil fuels. They will explore pathways to decarbonize heavy industry and manufacturing. Sustainable supply chains that embed climate resilience will be discussed alongside mechanisms for financing biodiversity protection and climate adaptation. The forum will also surface the latest investment trends in renewable energy and low-carbon infrastructure across the region. The underlying question threading through all of this: how can technology-driven innovation and policy reform work together with private capital to create climate projects that are both scalable and bankable?
Hong Kong's role as a regional financial hub underpins the choice of venue. Eddie Yue, chief executive of the Hong Kong Monetary Authority, noted that the city has been active in green bond issuance, transition finance, and nature-positive investments. Hosting the forum for a second consecutive year allows Hong Kong to demonstrate how sustainable finance can reshape supply chains and enable nature-based solutions. The event is also the cornerstone of Hong Kong Green Week, the city's annual sustainability gathering.
Two initiatives will receive particular attention. The IFC's She Wins Climate program supports women entrepreneurs and women-led enterprises developing climate solutions, embedding gender equity into climate action. The Alliance for Green Commercial Banks, an IFC initiative implemented in Asia with the HKMA, works to accelerate green finance innovation within the commercial banking sector. Both programs illustrate how inclusive climate action—integrating gender empowerment with private finance—can be woven into national and regional climate strategies.
The one-day format will include high-level panel discussions, fireside chats on innovative financing structures and climate technologies, and case studies from companies and institutions already undertaking green transitions in Asia-Pacific. The goal is explicit: translate policy discussions into investment opportunities, closing the gap between what governments commit to and what actually gets built and financed on the ground. The 2024 inaugural forum established a foundation for collaboration among public and private stakeholders in the region's climate finance ecosystem. This year's edition aims to deepen those partnerships, scale cross-border investments, and position emerging markets as leaders in climate-smart economic development as the world approaches COP30.
Notable Quotes
Emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region recognize the necessity of leading, designing and investing in their own country-specific climate solutions.— Riccardo Puliti, IFC Regional Vice President for Asia-Pacific
Hong Kong is committed to supporting low-carbon, resilient, and inclusive growth in Asia Pacific.— Eddie Yue, Chief Executive of HKMA
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Climate & Environment