Since the goal of “2030 Carbon Peak and 2060 Carbon Neutrality” was put forward, the concept of green development has influenced different industries, and multiple innovative practices have quickly emerged. The period of 14th Five-Year Plan is the critical stage in reaching China’s 2030 goal. Moreover, during pandemic, people’s lifestyle and payment methods have undergone unprecedented digital transformation. In this new reality, the green transformation of payment method has become a window for the green transformation and development of the real economy.
In May 2022, the International Institute of Green Finance, CUFE, and Tencent mobilized dozens of cross-disciplinary experts and scholars to explore the area of green payments. After six months of research, studies, and interviews the research team presented the report “Green Payment Contributes to China’s Carbon Neutrality”.
The report conducts a comprehensive review of payment industry policies, markets mechnisms in the context of digital transformation , and analyzes how green payment can help decarbonize the real economy, and measures effectiveness of different emission reduction scenarios, to help the payment industry better respond to the “Dual Carbon” goal and serve the transition to a green and low-carbon economy in advance.
Currently, green payment scenarios focus mainly on carbon emissions reductions through the transformation of production technology, the greening of lifestyles, and paperless payment.
According to the analysis and statistics of this research supported by Weixin Pay, in 2021 and 2017-2021, the total carbon emission reduction achieved by paper saving for daily consumption, online ticket purchase and online medical care is 55,500 tons, and 188,200 tons respectively. Besides, by investigating the average usage of Weixin Pay in the above three scenarios from 2017 to 2021, it shows a significant growth trend. In the future, it is foreseeable that the green payment application scenario will experience a major innovation era with the development of the 5G technology, and the public will increasingly choose Weixin Pay to handle various businesses such as daily life, travel, and medical care.
The report is online available now; please download it HERE