- Latest pilots strengthen green market connectivity across Greater Bay Area
- About 100,000 Green Electricity Certificates traded by 15 corporate entities
- Settlement of Shenzhen Emission Allowance transactions successfully tested
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) today (Wednesday) announced the successful completion of two cross-boundary pilot programmes facilitated by Core Climate, together with a cooperation agreement with the Guangzhou Power Exchange Centre (GPEC) to support the further development of the Green Electricity Certificate (GEC) market.
The first pilot enabled Hong Kong corporates to purchase GECs through GPEC, while the second tested the settlement of Shenzhen Emission Allowance (SZEA) transactions with the Shenzhen Green Exchange (SGE). Together, the initiatives expand access to green energy instruments and strengthen carbon market connectivity across the Greater Bay Area.
HKEX Group General Counsel and Group Chief Sustainability Officer, Paul Chow, said: “These pilots are important steps in strengthening green energy and carbon market connectivity across the Greater Bay Area. The GEC transactions mark HKEX’s first collaboration with a Chinese Mainland onshore power exchange, while the SZEA pilot builds practical experience for closer cooperation between the carbon markets of Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland. We will work towards commercialising GECs in Hong Kong, with the aim of making them available through Core Climate, while strengthening collaboration with our partners to develop transparent, efficient and connected sustainable finance infrastructure across the region.”
Bringing together 15 corporate entities across a range of sectors, the first pilot was conducted in collaboration with GPEC, Shenzhen Power Supply Co and the Hong Kong Quality Assurance Agency, generating total transaction volume of about 100,000 GECs.
GECs are China’s nationally-recognised Energy Attribute Certificates, with each certificate representing one megawatt-hour of renewable electricity. Since GECs were accepted in March 2025 by RE100 — a global initiative for companies committed to using 100 per cent renewable electricity — they have become an increasingly relevant tool for meeting renewable electricity commitments. By raising awareness and broadening their use cases, the pilot gives Hong Kong corporates an additional credible instrument to address Scope 2 emissions and advance their decarbonisation goals.
Building on the pilots, HKEX and GPEC have signed a cooperation agreement to establish a cross-boundary GEC trading pathway and expand the use of GECs by companies in Hong Kong. The collaboration will focus on trading arrangements, practical use cases, knowledge sharing and market development, supporting the Greater Bay Area’s green transition and advancing regional green market connectivity.
In the second pilot, Core Climate provided settlement services for three pairs of SZEA transactions with SGE. The pilot marked the first cross-boundary settlement between onshore and offshore carbon exchanges, strengthening carbon market connectivity between Hong Kong and the Chinese Mainland.
The SZEA pilot builds on the memorandum of understanding signed by HKEX and SGE in October 2023. It supports the nation’s dual carbon goals and responds to policy priorities in the Chinese Mainland and Hong Kong to explore cross-boundary carbon trading and settlement, providing practical experience for the continued development of the region’s carbon markets.
Launched in 2022, Core Climate is Hong Kong’s international environmental marketplace, offering trading, custody and settlement services for a selection of internationally certified carbon projects from around the world. The platform enables corporates, investors and project owners to access transparent and certified environmental instruments, and forms part of HKEX’s broader commitment to advancing Hong Kong’s role as a leading sustainable finance centre.
GEC pilot participants (in alphabetical order):
- Airport Authority Hong Kong
- Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited
- CGN (Guangdong) New Energy Investment Company Limited
- China Power International Development Limited
- China Resources New Energy (TengXian) Company Limited
- Guotai Junan International Holdings Limited
- Henderson Land Development Company Limited
- Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limied
- Nayong Shenneng New Energy Co
- Negawatt ZERO2
- Shanghai Commercial Bank Limited
- Shenneng (Luquan) Energy Development Company Limited
- The Bank of East Asia, Limited
- The Hong Kong and China Gas Company Limited
- Tianyang Shenneng Wind Power Company Limited
SZEA pilot participants (in alphabetical order):
- China Energy Conservation & Environmental Protection (Hong Kong) Investment Company Limited
- CICC Commodity Trading Limited
- Guotai Haitong Securities Company Limited
- Huatai Securities Company Limited
- Petrochina International (Hong Kong) Corporation Limited
- SEC Power Sales & Services Company Limited
- Shenzhen China Star Optoelectronics Semiconductor Display Technology Company Limited
- Shenzhen Qianhai China Carbon Integrated Energy Technology Limited
- Towngas (Shenzhen) Carbon Asset Operation Company Limited
About HKEX
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) is a publicly traded company (HKEX Stock Code: 388) and one of the world’s leading global exchange groups, offering a range of equity, derivatives, commodities, fixed income and other financial markets, products and services, including the London Metal Exchange.
As a superconnector and gateway between East and West, HKEX facilitates the two-way flow of capital, ideas and dialogue between China and the rest of the world through its pioneering Connect schemes, increasingly diversified product ecosystem, and deep, liquid and international markets.
HKEX is a purpose-led organisation which, across its business and through the work of HKEX Foundation, seeks to connect, promote and progress its markets and the communities it supports for the prosperity of all.
www.hkexgroup.com
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