Financing the climate transition in China’s agri-food systems

The report identifies a significant funding gap in China's agri-food climate transition, noting that global climate finance for the sector is only one-seventh of what is required. It argues that while public funds currently dominate, mobilising private capital through transition finance—including sustainability-linked loans, bonds, and blended finance—is essential. The document highlights barriers such as inadequate GHG emission disclosure among Chinese agri-food companies and a lack of credible transition plans. It recommends that regulators establish standardised accounting for agri-food emissions, support the development of entity-level transition plans, and align agricultural subsidies with climate goals to ensure a just transition for smallholders and SMEs.

• China is the world's largest food-related emitter, with agri-food system GHG emissions exceeding 1.9 Gt CO2e in 2019, accounting for one-tenth of global food emissions.
• There is a severe global funding gap for agri-food climate transition; only 4.3% of global climate finance (approximately USD 28.5bn in 2020) is allocated to the sector, which is one-seventh of the estimated need.
• Chinese agri-food companies lag behind other industries in climate disclosure. In the A-share market, only 41% of listed agri-food corporates produce ESG or social responsibility reports, and only seven disclose GHG emission-related indicators and targets.

APA

Shao, D., Zhang, J., He, X., Li, S., & Xie, W. (2024). Financing the climate transition in China’s agri-food systems. Climate Bonds Initiative. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Financing-the-climate-transition-in-China%E2%80%99s-agri-food-systems_2025-02-17-162812_kphm.pdf

Chicago

Shao, Danqing, Jingyi Zhang, Xiaobei He, Shaoxin Li, and Wenhong Xie. Financing the climate transition in China’s agri-food systems. Climate Bonds Initiative, 2024. https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Financing-the-climate-transition-in-China%E2%80%99s-agri-food-systems_2025-02-17-162812_kphm.pdf.

Wikipedia

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BibTeX

@techreport{shao2024financing, author = {Shao, Danqing and Zhang, Jingyi and He, Xiaobei and Li, Shaoxin and Xie, Wenhong}, title = {{Financing the climate transition in China’s agri-food systems}}, institution = {Climate Bonds Initiative}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://www.climatebonds.net/files/documents/publications/Financing-the-climate-transition-in-China%E2%80%99s-agri-food-systems_2025-02-17-162812_kphm.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }