The Global Scale of the Transition

In this episode of the All Things Sustainable podcast, we sit down with Dr. Ma Jun to discuss sustainable finance trends in China and beyond.

Dr. Ma is the former Chief Economist for China's central bank, the People's Bank of China, and was a lead architect of the country's first green finance guidelines and green bond standard. He also served as Co-Chair of the G20 Sustainable Finance Working Group. Today, his roles include President of the Institute of Finance and Sustainability, a Beijing-based think tank; Chairman and President of the Hong Kong Green Finance Association; and Chairman of the Capacity-building Alliance of Sustainable Investment (CASI).

In the interview, Dr. Ma explains why sustainable finance has grown significantly in China and globally, and he highlights examples of how green technology can be scalable. In China, for example, he notes that 60% of car sales are electric vehicles.

"Fundamentally, I think the momentum is there because a lot of green activities have become economically viable," he says. "They are no longer slogans and for cosmetic PR reasons, but they are actually making money."

We also hear how geopolitical conflicts are impacting energy transition strategies. "Renewable energy is [the] ultimate form of energy security," Dr. Ma says. "The energy crisis gives a very strong reason for speeding up the development of the renewable sector, and therefore, finance has to follow."

We conducted this interview on the sidelines of the Building Bridges Summit in Geneva. Listen to our interview with Former US Secretary of State John Kerry at Building Bridges here: John Kerry makes the case for optimism and urgency ahead of COP31 | S&P Global

Further listening: How sustainable finance is evolving as investors rethink security and defense | S&P Global

Further reading: Dual pillars toward carbon peak in China's 15th Five-Year Plan: Energy security and green transition (Subscription required)

Copyright ©2026 by S&P Global

DISCLAIMER

By accessing this Podcast, I acknowledge that S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty, guarantee, or representation as to the accuracy or sufficiency of the information featured in this Podcast. The information, opinions, and recommendations presented in this Podcast are for general information only and any reliance on the information provided in this Podcast is done at your own risk.

Any unauthorized use, facilitation or encouragement of a third party's unauthorized use (including without limitation copy, distribution, transmission or modification, use as part of generative artificial intelligence or for training any artificial intelligence models) of this Podcast or any related information is not permitted without S&P Global's prior consent subject to appropriate licensing and shall be deemed an infringement, violation, breach or contravention of the rights of S&P Global or any applicable third-party (including any copyright, trademark, patent, rights of privacy or publicity or any other proprietary rights).

This Podcast should not be considered professional advice. Unless specifically stated otherwise, S&P GLOBAL does not endorse, approve, recommend, or certify any information, product, process, service, or organization presented or mentioned in this Podcast, and information from this Podcast should not be referenced in any way to imply such approval or endorsement. The third party materials or content of any third party site referenced in this Podcast do not necessarily reflect the opinions, standards or policies of S&P GLOBAL. S&P GLOBAL assumes no responsibility or liability for the accuracy or completeness of the content contained in third party materials or on third party sites referenced in this Podcast or the compliance with applicable laws of such materials and/or links referenced herein. Moreover, S&P GLOBAL makes no warranty that this Podcast, or the server that makes it available, is free of viruses, worms, or other elements or codes that manifest contaminating or destructive properties.