通过股票市场推动绿色转型：引入韩国气候基准指数的可行性研究

FacilitatingtheGreen Transitionthroughthe StockMarket: FeasibilityStudy onIntroducing a Korean GibongRyu Taehyun Kim SanghunParkEconomist, Sustainable Growth StrategyTeam, Office of Sustainable Growth, Bankof KoreaTel. 02-750-6833sanghun@bok.or.kr JuniorEconomist,SustainableStrategyTeam,OfficeofSustainableGrowth, Bank of KoreaTel. 02-750-6746g.ryu@bok.or.kr Headof the Currency Management Team,Busan Branch, Bank of Korea(formerly with theOffice of Sustainable Growth, Bank of Korea)Tel. 051-240-3951thkim@bok.or.kr 1.Green finance in Korea has evolved primarily around greenlendingand guarantees provided bybanks and policy financial institutions,along with green bond issuance in the bond market.In 2.In contrast, the European Union introduced the EU Climate Benchmarks*framework in 2019 toprovideinvestors with standardized criteria for evaluating the climate performance of green * A climate benchmarkindicates reference, such as an index or rating,that isused to compare andevaluate climate-related investment performance. The EU has stipulated quantitative indicators and 3.The EUhasestablished minimum requirements for twocategoriesof climate benchmarks—EUPABandEUCTB*—which aim for emission reductions consistent with the Paris Agreement.Onlyindexesthat meetthese criteriamay belabelledasanEU PABorEU CTB.Previously, benchmark composition,including(1)decarbonization,(2)exclusion criteria,and(3)sector * PAB: Paris-Aligned Benchmark, CTB: Climate Transition Benchmark** Key indicators include carbon reduction rates, decarbonizationpathways, the share of high- 4.PAB and CTBindexescan serve as effective tools to enhance the reliability and transparencyof financial products,enableinvestorsto investresponsibly, strengthen corporate incentives 5. Since the implementation of the system,the market forPAB and CTBindexproducts hasrapidlyemerged. Major global index providers such as MSCI and S&P, along with leading assetmanagersincluding BlackRock and Amundi, have successively launchedindexesincorporating 6.To evaluate the applicability of the EU Climate Benchmarks to Korea,this study simulatedindexesfor Korea (hereafter referred to as K-PAB and K-CTB)that reflecttheEU requirements.The results show that bothindexesclosely tracked*the performance of the parent index (KOSPI) *Excess cumulative return relative to KOSPI (%p, Oct. 2015–May 2025): K-PAB 5.6, K-CTB 4.6**Weighted average carbon intensityby index(tons/KRWbillion, 2024): KOSPI 217.0, K-PAB 92.4, K-CTB 129.4 7.The introduction and utilization of the K-PAB and K-CTBindexesiscurrentlyconstrained by thelimited availability of domestic climate data and weak demand for low-carbon investments.While it isnecessary to develop indexes that comply with EU requirements, Korea faces a shortage these indexes and the growth of related markets may be limited at this stage. 8.Nevertheless,the K-PAB and K-CTB indexes are expected to enhance the quality andtransparency of domestic climate finance and strengthen Korea’s global competitiveness bypresenting quantitative low-carbon investment standards consistent with the Paris Agreement 9.As such,the K-PAB and K-CTBindexescan befurtherrefinedand the related marketscanbedeveloped smoothlywhen supported bythe following conditions:the expansion of reliableclimatedata to improveindextransparency and credibility; the implementation ofeffective 10.Lastly,relevant domestic institutionsshould beencouraged to cooperate in developing andoperatingclimate benchmarks tailored to Korea’s circumstances.While referencing EUrequirements, it isalsonecessary to establish standards that adequately reflect Korea’s industrial I.Background of theStudy 1.Under the aimto promote the transition to a low-carbon economy,Korea’sefforts towardgreen financehaveprimarily developed around green loans and guarantees provided by banksand policy financial institutions, as well as green bond issuancein the bond market, while theequitymarket’s role has remained relatively limited.1The growth ofthe markets forgreen loans 2.In contrast, Europe introduced the EU Climate Benchmarks5framework in 2019, followed byitsimplementing rules in 2020, to provide investors with standardized criteria for assessingthe climate performance of green investments.The EU Climate Benchmarks serve as quantitative II.CaseStudyontheEU Climate Benchmarks 3. This chapter examines the structure,usefulness, andcurrent utilizationof the EU ClimateBenchmarks.It first reviews the background and policy implications ofthe introduction of the (1)Introduction 4. A climate benchmark refers to a standardbased on which investors can compare andevaluate thelevel of climate change response,or climate-related performance,of financialproducts or investment portfolios.Key indicatorsused to assess such performance include carbon Investorsuse climate benchmarks toassess thelevel ofclimateriskmanagement intheir 5.Climate benchmarks consist of various indicators,including indexes,ratings,policy Climate