Cathay Financial Holdings x COP30— Cathay FHC Calls for Diversified Net Zero Solutions and a Just Transition

World Faces $500 Billion Annual Clean Energy Investment Gap, Cathay FHC Calls for Diversified Net Zero Solutions and a Just Transition

BELEM, BRAZIL, December 22, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Cathay Financial Holdings (Cathay FHC) joined COP30 in Belém, Brazil, participating in three key sessions. The first session featured Cathay FHC as the only Taiwanese financial institution present in the official Blue Zone, where it explored innovative nature-finance solutions to lead the Asia-Pacific region. The second session featured Cathay FHC President C.K. Lee as the opening speaker at the COP30 side event, the World Climate Summit (WCS), aiming to rally global stakeholders around the concept of “Moore’s Law for Climate and Nature.” The third session was a panel discussion at the WCS, where Michael Wen, Executive Vice President of Cathay United Bank (CUB), shared insights on “Financing Just and Accelerated Energy Transitions,” and discussed Asia’s energy transition landscape and investment opportunities.

At the WCS, Michael Wen served as the sole Asian representative in a dialogue focused on leveraging finance to advance a just energy transition. Citing data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), Wen stressed that the Asia-Pacific region—home to the world’s most critical manufacturing hubs—must accelerate clean energy deployment to bridge the widening investment gap.

“Asia’s emerging economies are the backbone of global manufacturing,” Wen said. “With a $500 billion annual deficit in global energy transition finance, the region must turn this challenge into opportunity and move swiftly from ambition to action.”

Wen further highlighted Cathay FHC’s pioneering role in Taiwan’s renewable energy finance sector. Since arranging Taiwan’s first solar project financing in 2011, CUB has completed more than 200 solar financing projects and has participated in landmark offshore wind projects as well as major international renewable energy investments.

“Anyone flying across the Taiwan Strait can now see hundreds of turbines,” Wen added. “They represent Taiwan’s determination to reduce fossil-fuel dependence and accelerate clean energy adoption.”

To accelerate global clean energy investment, Wen outlined three strategic priorities: (1) expanding project bankability through enhanced financial structuring, blended-finance approaches, and risk-mitigation tools that leverage insurance expertise; (2) developing diverse net-zero project pipelines and new risk-reduction mechanisms, including integrating insurance functions with sustainable infrastructure models; and (3) strengthening energy system resilience through demand-side efficiency, grid flexibility, distributed generation, and backup capacity—an approach reflected in Cathay FHC’s solar-plus-storage investments in Australia.

The panel also emphasized the human dimension of the energy transition. Helen Pedroso, Director of CSR and Human Rights at L´Oréal Group in Brazil, underscored the Global South’s growing leadership role at COP30, while Marc Moutinho of the Mission Possible Partnership highlighted the importance of building local demand for low-carbon products to drive industrial decarbonization and attract private capital.

To advance a just transition, Cathay FHC outlined three core action pillars: (1) Providing sustainable finance solutions to empower SMEs; (2) Supporting companies in closing knowledge, technology, and skills gaps; (3) Backing AVPN’s Asia’s Clean Energy Transition Initiative (ASCENT) to connect just transition projects with suitable investors across Asia.

Looking ahead, Cathay FHC reaffirmed its ambition to be a leading financial institution in the Asia-Pacific, mobilizing capital toward climate and energy transition solutions while fostering resilience, equity, and shared prosperity.

Elaine Chen
Cathay Financial Holdings
+886 2 2708 7698
email us here

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