Comparing China’s Green Bond Endorsed Project Catalogue and the Green Industry Guiding Catalogue with the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (Part 1)

The document provides a comparative analysis of the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy against two Chinese green frameworks: the NDRC Green Industry Guiding Catalogue and the PBC Green Bond Endorsed Project Catalogue. It highlights that while the EU Taxonomy is rooted in the Paris Agreement and employs a systemic approach with six environmental objectives and strict carbon thresholds, the Chinese catalogues focus more on pollution prevention and industry guidance without specifying carbon emission thresholds. The EU framework explicitly excludes fossil fuel activities without carbon capture, whereas the Chinese catalogues include them. The report also details the EU's 'Substantial Contribution' and 'Do No Significant Harm' (DNSH) principles, which require activities to benefit at least one environmental goal without harming others.

• The EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy is based on six environmental objectives: climate change mitigation, climate change adaptation, sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources, transition to a circular economy, waste prevention and recycling, pollution prevention and control, and protection of healthy ecosystems.
• To be eligible under the EU Taxonomy, an economic activity must meet the 'Substantial Contribution' principle for at least one objective, the 'Do No Significant Harm' (DNSH) principle for the other five, and minimum Social Safeguards.
• The EU Taxonomy employs specific quantitative carbon emission thresholds for 67 activities, such as a life cycle emissions threshold of 100gCO2e/kWh for electricity generation, which is intended to decrease every five years until 2050.
• Unlike the EU Taxonomy, China's NDRC Green Industry Guiding Catalogue and PBC Green Bond Endorsed Project Catalogue do not specify carbon emission thresholds or a systemic approach to define environmental objectives.
• The EU Taxonomy excludes fossil fuel activities without carbon capture, whereas the PBC Green Bond Endorsed Project Catalogue includes 'clean coal'.
• The primary users of the EU Taxonomy are Member States, the EU, and financial market participants (such as insurance undertakings and investment firms) who market products as environmentally sustainable, while the Chinese catalogues target policymakers and green bond issuers respectively.

APA

Climate Bonds Initiative (2019). Comparing China’s Green Bond Endorsed Project Catalogue and the Green Industry Guiding Catalogue with the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (Part 1). https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/comparing_chinas_green_definitions_with_the_eu_sustainable_finance_taxonomy_part_1_en_final.pdf

Chicago

Climate Bonds Initiative. Comparing China’s Green Bond Endorsed Project Catalogue and the Green Industry Guiding Catalogue with the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (Part 1). 2019. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/comparing_chinas_green_definitions_with_the_eu_sustainable_finance_taxonomy_part_1_en_final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Bonds Initiative |title=Comparing China’s Green Bond Endorsed Project Catalogue and the Green Industry Guiding Catalogue with the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (Part 1) |date=September 2019 |url=https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/comparing_chinas_green_definitions_with_the_eu_sustainable_finance_taxonomy_part_1_en_final.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatebondsinitiative2019comparing, author = {{Climate Bonds Initiative}}, title = {{Comparing China’s Green Bond Endorsed Project Catalogue and the Green Industry Guiding Catalogue with the EU Sustainable Finance Taxonomy (Part 1)}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2019}, month = sep, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/comparing_chinas_green_definitions_with_the_eu_sustainable_finance_taxonomy_part_1_en_final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }