26th June 2025, Paris - To unlock carbon market potential in tackling emissions embedded and produced from the built environment, Ningyuan Institute of Climate and Sustainable Development (NICSD) has signed an MOU with South Pole. This partnership will seek to embed European sustainable finance standards into China's green building sector through the Baoting Pilot Project.
The pilot project aims to advance sustainable development in the China-EU (Baoting) Green and Digital Innovation Zone. This will include the development of a first-of-its-kind carbon methodology for buildings in this zone to ultimately attribute a financial value to carbon used in construction.
Backed by former Special Envoy on Climate Change for China, Xie Zhenhua, and Laurence Tubiana, CEO of the European Climate Foundation, the partnership, developed under the UNDP-GDIP (Green and Digital Innovation Project) Baoting Pilot Project, is a milestone in localising global climate frameworks.
It focuses on enabling green building projects in China to align with the EU Taxonomy for Sustainable Finance and the Common Ground Taxonomy - frameworks critical for unlocking sustainable investment flows. The pilot project aims to establish a model for future urban decarbonisation policies and finance mechanisms in cities across China and the wider Asia region.
The built environment accounts for nearly 40% of global emissions yet remains underrepresented in carbon markets. The new methodology will inform future carbon pricing, investment decisions, and urban decarbonisation policies.
South Pole CEO, Daniel Klier, signed the MOU with the NICSD’s Head of International Cooperation Shuo Ma at the European Meeting of the Baoting Climate Challenge in Paris today.
Daniel Klier, CEO of South Pole, said: “This partnership localises global climate finance frameworks and accelerates the real economy transition. By aligning EU-level standards with on-the-ground green building projects in China, we're not just building greener cities, we're creating a blueprint for sustainable finance that can be scaled globally to tackle hard-to-abate emissions in the built environment."
He added: “The built environment is one of the hardest sectors to decarbonise, which is why developing a methodology to monetise and reduce embodied carbon is a crucial step forward. We look forward to driving forward meaningful progress with partners at the forefront of climate action in China."
South Pole delegation attending the European Meeting of the Baoting Climate Challenge in Paris today. From left to right: Daniel Sachadonig, Fabien Jimenez Roldan, Souad Koliaï, Mara Menz and Daniel Klier.
The MoU represents tangible progress towards climate goals, embedding global best practices into national green building efforts. South Pole brings nearly two decades of climate finance expertise, including pioneering work on NetZeroCities, carbon markets, and carbon dioxide removal (CDR) integration into urban planning.
South Pole has also been present in China for nearly two decades, deepening a long-standing commitment to supporting a pathway to carbon neutrality through finance-ready solutions.
South Pole is the world's leading carbon asset developer and climate consultancy.
Since 2006, South Pole has helped companies decide where and how to decarbonise, then mobilise what delivery requires across their organisation – including through suppliers, projects, technology and capital – to deliver measurable emission reductions and business value.. South Pole serves over 3,500 clients across the world, and its global team of experts has helped many Fortune 500 businesses translate net zero commitments into practical, investment-ready decarbonisation plans.
With more than 900 carbon projects in its global portfolio, South Pole develops project pipelines, structures carbon credit portfolios and mobilises financing and delivery partners, bringing together the capabilities and resources that companies cannot easily access or coordinate on their own. In line with its mission to deliver true climate impact for all, South Pole has helped reduce over 200 million metric tonnes of CO2 emissions to date, accelerated low-carbon transformations across several sectors, and provided measurable benefits to communities vulnerable to climate change.
The business is supported by world-class investors, including Temasek's GenZero, Lightrock, Corisol, and Salesforce Ventures.
South Pole is a social enterprise recognised by the World Economic Forum's Schwab Foundation.
For more information, visit www.southpole.com or LinkedIn.
