Supporting green bonds markets through regulatory frameworks: current developments in Hong Kong SAR and Singapore

As Hong Kong SAR and Singapore endeavour to develop their own green bond markets to provide financing opportunities to their economies and the regions that surround them, regulators have the unique task of balancing the challenges of the climate crisis against their nations’ economic interests. The legal frameworks that emerge from this balancing act, in the form of green taxonomies and corporate disclosure rules, have mostly converged towards classification systems and science-based approaches. To understand why such a trend has emerged, this article compares the policy proposals and developments in Hong Kong SAR and Singapore. In doing so, it comments on the potential benefits of policy convergence and considers whether justifications for divergence hold water.