Last month, Dr. Ma Jun – Chairman & President of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association (HKGFA) and Chairman of CASI spoke with Channel NewsAsia (CAN)’s Elakeyaa Selvaraji on the sidelines of Ecosperity Week in Singapore. The discussion touched on a question central to our collective work: how might we move from fragmented taxonomy landscapes toward functional interoperability that enables cross-border green capital to flow more freely.
Dr. Ma brings a distinctive perspective to this question, having contributed to the architecture of China’s green finance framework, co-authored the China–EU Common Ground Taxonomy (CGT), and now supported its evolution into the Multi-jurisdiction CGT (MCGT) with Singapore’s participation. His observation was measured: taxonomies serve a necessary purpose in preventing greenwashing, yet the proliferation of differing definitions — over 400 globally — risks creating confusion rather than confidence. The solution, in his view, lies not in pursuing a single global standard, but in cultivating interoperability: sufficient common ground for capital to move across borders with trust.
Early indicators suggest this approach may be gaining traction. As of January 2026, more than 500 CGT-aligned green bonds have been identified in China’s market, with issuers voluntarily adopting the framework where it adds value. These instruments have demonstrated financing cost reductions of 10 to 30 basis points relative to conventional bonds, suggesting markets recognise and reward comparability. Technical alignment has progressed across approximately 60 percent of priority sectors — spanning manufacturing, transport, water and waste, electricity, and construction. Singapore’s decision to join the MCGT coalition illustrates how voluntary, multi-jurisdictional cooperation can advance alongside formal processes. In parallel, the adoption of ISSB S1 and S2 standards by over 20 jurisdictions points to a broader convergence in disclosure expectations that reinforces taxonomy credibility.
Dr. Ma outlined a practical three-layer framework underpinning this interoperability. The first layer employs a traffic-light activity mapping system — green for activities aligned with Paris Agreement goals, amber for transition activities with credible pathways, and red for those misaligned. The second layer addresses criteria harmonisation: a core set of technical screening criteria are fully aligned in areas such as electricity generation and green buildings, while remaining categories operate on the basis of mutual recognition of substantially equivalent standards. The third layer establishes a disclosure and verification bridge, anchored by ISSB reporting standards and supported by regulated verification regimes that set quality floors. This framework is increasingly being referenced by financial institutions, regulators, and exchanges across China, the European Union, Singapore, and Hong Kong.
Hong Kong occupies a natural position within this evolving architecture — as a gateway for mainland green capital accessing international markets, a bridge between Chinese, ASEAN, and global taxonomy frameworks, and a source of the bilingual, cross-standard expertise the market increasingly requires. HKGFA has characterised this role as that of a “super connector and gateway between East and West.” CASI was established to support this function through practical capacity-building, professional development, and cross-border knowledge exchange.
The taxonomy layer appears to be stabilising. The challenge ahead lies in operationalisation — developing the fluency to read across taxonomies using common reference points, mapping local classification codes to shared frameworks, structuring transition finance with credible pathways, assisting regulators in drafting recognition provisions, and anchoring cross-border transactions to aligned labels.
As Dr. Ma noted: “Excessive competition among standards leads to market segmentation and greenwashing risk. We need cooperation to improve comparability, interoperability, and consistency. ”
Watch the full interview: https://www.channelnewsasia.com/watch/green-finance-taxonomies-must-align-prevent-investor-confusion-chair-6132051