The Zhitong Finance App learned that Hong Kong's Financial Secretary Chen Maobo delivered a speech at the One Earth Summit (One Earth Summit), proposing that the world needs to work together to address the three core challenges of sustainable transformation and financing, sharing of scientific and technological achievements, and talent training. Hong Kong will rely on its financial and innovation advantages to act as a “super contact” and a “super value-added person” to guide financial resources to empower innovation and improve people's livelihood through technological innovation.
Chen Maobo pointed out that the Middle East conflict highlights the world's dependence on fossil energy. Clean energy development is not only about climate goals, but also about countries' economic security. He called on all parties to increase the popularity and affordability of clean technology, and not use “overcapacity” as an excuse to set up trade barriers. With climate investment requirements of at least $1.1 trillion per year in emerging and developing economies in Asia, there is an urgent need to leverage private capital to participate in the green transition.
At the same time, he raised two major structural issues: on the one hand, many economies have insufficient digital infrastructure, making it difficult for people to obtain stable and affordable Internet services, hindering the development of education, health care, and business; on the other hand, the World Bank predicts that 1.2 billion young people will enter the labor market in the next 10 to 15 years, but only about 400 million new jobs will be added. Employment pressure is not simply caused by artificial intelligence, which indicates that investment in technology must advance at the same time as talent cultivation.
Chen Maobo said that Hong Kong will contribute in three areas: financing, innovative applications, and talent training. At the level of sustainable finance, the Hong Kong capital market connects mainland and global capital, continues to connect with the “Global South” capital market, and promotes the dual listing of enterprises in the two regions. Last year, the scale of green and sustainable debt financing in Hong Kong was about US$77 billion; the region is vigorously developing transformational finance, supporting decarbonization in industries that are difficult to reduce emissions, and continuing to improve green disclosure standards. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority expanded the sustainable finance category and added guidance for industries such as aviation and steel to provide a clear reference for transformation investments. For early-stage projects that do not yet have commercial financing conditions, Hong Kong will link multilateral institutions and charitable capital to provide seed capital, rely on local wealth management and philanthropic network development to share early risks and boost confidence in private capital.
At the level of innovation and technology applications, Hong Kong is positioned as a demonstration scenario for the implementation of new technology, providing a testing platform for AI, robotics and other solutions, and accelerating the commercialization of technology. Using robots to care for the elderly as an example, he verified a workable technical solution in a small residential environment in Hong Kong, which can be replicated in other cities to help the elderly live independently and with dignity.
In terms of talent development, Hong Kong will implement a national AI training program, linking technology companies, educational institutions and community resources to popularize digital skills, and exchange experiences with regional economies to bridge the digital divide. Chen Maobo stressed that the yardstick for scientific and technological progress is improving people's livelihood. The value of the intelligent era depends not only on technical ability, but also on employment opportunities and inclusive benefits created by technology.